Woman duped of RM750k in Singapore permanent resident scam

By the Editorial Team · Sunday, September 27, 2026

A woman in her 60s lost over RM750,000 in a prolonged scam involving false promises of assistance with Singapore permanent resident applications, while an elderly retiree in his 70s was defrauded of more than RM850,000 through a phone scam impersonating authorities. Both cases are under police investigation, with authorities advising the public to verify suspicious accounts and report scams via designated hotlines and social media channels.

A woman in her 60s lost more than RM750,000 after falling victim to a Singapore permanent resident (PR) application scam, authorities in Johor Baru reported. The fraud began late last year when the woman responded to an advertisement promising assistance with Singapore PR applications.

According to a police official, the woman initially paid S$300 (approximately RM955) as a professional fee, after which scammers continued to demand further payments over several months. The official noted that the scammers used various excuses to extract money from her, resulting in more than 100 transactions to multiple accounts, both domestic and overseas. The woman filed a police report after becoming unable to withstand persistent harassment.

In a separate incident, an elderly retiree in his 70s was defrauded of over RM850,000 in a phone scam involving impersonation of authorities. The victim received a call in May from an individual claiming to be a police officer who alleged that the retiree’s name had been used to open an account for money laundering. The supposed officer then transferred the call to another person claiming affiliation with Bank Negara, who advised the retiree to move his funds to a new account.

The scammers convinced the man to open an additional bank account using his personal information and instructed him to leave his ATM card at a secret location in the city. Upon checking his accounts days later, the retiree found less than RM50 remaining, as the perpetrators had withdrawn the rest of his savings.

Both cases are currently under investigation by police under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which addresses cheating. Authorities urged the public to verify suspicious bank accounts through the Semak Mule system and to report scams by contacting the Commercial Crime Investigation Department’s Scam Response Centre at 03-2610 1599 or the National Scam Response Centre at 997. Social media resources such as the Facebook pages @jskjpdrm and @cybercrimealertmrmp were also recommended for reporting and information.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.