PUBLISHED ONNovember 30, 2025 4:51 AMBYSyarifah Nadhirah
A 73-year-old Malaysian woman was arrested on Nov 24 for her alleged involvement in at least three cases of government official impersonation scam (GOIS).
She is the seventh Malaysian to be arrested this month for this scam variant involving the impersonation of government officials purportedly from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) or Ministry of Law.
In a statement on Nov 30, the police said they received reports involving scammers posing as officials purportedly from MAS between Oct 8 and Nov 24.
Modus operandi: Account, identity compromised
Based on the police’s preliminary investigations, the woman had allegedly been facilitating the operations of a scam syndicate by collecting cash and gold bars from victims of the impersonation scams.
Victims were either told that their bank accounts were linked to money laundering activities or that their personal information had been compromised.
They were then told to meet with unknown individuals at various locations across Singapore to hand over cash and gold bars for purpose of investigation.
The monies and gold bars were then handed over to unknown persons, believed to be members of the syndicate.
The woman was arrested after an employee at BullionStar – a gold and silver dealer located along New Bridge Road – alerted the police to the woman loitering suspiciously outside the retail premises.
Cash amounting to $200 and gold bars worth approximately $200,000 was recovered and seized from her.
Police investigations against the woman are ongoing.
The police remind members of the public never to transfer or hand over money or valuables to unknown individuals, or to anyone whose identity has not been verified.
They should also avoid placing money or valuables at any physical location to facilitate subsequent collection as well as sharing device screens with unknown persons under any circumstances.
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