Singapore police press sustained islandwide crackdown on scammers and money mules

Singapore's authorities have maintained an intensive, repeated campaign of islandwide enforcement operations targeting scammers and the money mules who help launder their proceeds, investigating hundreds of suspects across successive sweeps in 2026 as reported victim losses climb into the millions of dollars.

These operations have become a fixture of Singapore's anti-scam response. According to the Singapore Police Force, each round is typically run over about two weeks by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department together with the seven Police Land Divisions, with suspects called in to assist investigations as either scammers themselves or as money mules who allowed their bank accounts and identities to be used to move criminal funds.

In the most recent operation for which official figures are available, conducted from 4 to 17 June 2026, police said a total of 216 people aged between 16 and 73 — 158 men and 58 women — were being investigated for their suspected involvement. Their cases were linked to more than 406 reports of scams, with victims reportedly losing over $9 million, according to the force.

That round was one of several through the year. In earlier 2026 operations, police reported victim losses ranging from several million dollars to more than $9 million per sweep, and suspect counts broadly in the low hundreds, reflecting a steady tempo of enforcement rather than a single one-off dragnet.

Who the money mules are

Police have repeatedly warned that money mules are often recruited through social media, messaging platforms, dating sites and online advertisements promising quick cash or easy work-from-home earnings. Would-be mules may be asked to receive and transfer money, or to hand over control of their bank accounts, Singpass credentials or payment cards — steps that let syndicates obscure the trail between a victim's payment and the criminals behind a scam.

The offences under investigation in these operations typically include cheating, money laundering and providing payment services without a licence, authorities have said. Police have stressed that account holders are held accountable for transactions carried out through their accounts, and that pleading ignorance is unlikely to shield those who rent out or sell access to their banking facilities.

Money mules matter to investigators precisely because they sit at the chokepoint of a scam. Without local accounts to receive funds and layers of transfers to launder them, overseas syndicates find it far harder to extract and cash out the money that victims are tricked into sending.

A widening response

The enforcement sweeps are one strand of a broader government effort against a scam problem that has persisted despite years of public-education campaigns. Over recent years Singapore has rolled out a growing set of measures spanning banks, telcos and platforms, alongside tools aimed at helping the public screen suspicious calls, messages and websites before money changes hands.

Officials have also pointed to tougher consequences for those who lend their accounts to criminals, warning that mules can face jail and fines even when they claim they did not know the money was illicit. The authorities have urged the public not to share personal banking details, not to act as intermediaries for transfers on behalf of strangers, and to verify any unexpected request for money through official channels.

Police say the islandwide operations will continue as part of their sustained pressure on scam networks, and have encouraged anyone with information on scams or money-mule activity to come forward. The force maintains a running record of each operation on its public media hub, where the official figures for each sweep are published.