A woman handed over about S$20,000 worth of jewellery after scammers posing as YouTrip and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officers convinced her that her identity had been misused in a criminal case.
Police received a report from the victim on 28 August.
A 29-year-old Vietnamese man who allegedly collected the jewellery was arrested on 2 September and is due to be charged in court on Friday, 4 September, for allegedly assisting another person to retain benefits from criminal conduct.
Scammers Showed Her an Insurance Policy With Her Name and NRIC
According to the police, the victim first received an unsolicited call from someone claiming to be from YouTrip.
During the call, she was shown what appeared to be an insurance policy carrying her full name and NRIC number.
Believing that the policy was genuine, she asked for it to be cancelled.
She was subsequently contacted by another person claiming to be an MAS officer.
This supposed officer told her that her personal particulars had been misused and that she was implicated in a criminal case.
The victim was then instructed to hand over her jewellery so that it could supposedly undergo forensic examination.
She complied and gave an assortment of jewellery worth about S$20,000 to the 29-year-old Vietnamese man that same day.
Man Allegedly Collected Valuables for a Transnational Scam Syndicate
Police officers identified the man during investigations and arrested him on 2 September with assistance from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.
Preliminary investigations indicate that he was allegedly acting on instructions from unknown people believed to be members of a transnational scam syndicate.
His alleged role was to collect cash and valuables from scam victims before passing them to other unknown people.
He is expected to be charged with assisting another person to retain benefits from criminal conduct.
If convicted of the offence, he could be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000, or both.
Government Official Impersonation Scams Remain a Major Problem
The case follows a scam pattern that police have repeatedly warned about.
Victims may first hear from someone pretending to represent a company or financial institution before being connected to a second scammer claiming to be a government official.
In the first half of 2026, government official impersonation scams caused S$90.8 million in reported losses across 1,363 cases, according to police figures reported by CNA.
Police also observed scammers posing as organisations including YouTrip before directing victims to supposed officials from agencies such as MAS, the Ministry of Law or the police.
Members of the public have been reminded not to hand cash, jewellery or other valuables to people whose identities they have not verified.
Singapore government officials, including MAS officers, will also not ask people over the phone to transfer money, provide banking login details, install apps from unofficial app stores or have their calls transferred to the police.
