“Digital arrest” refers to scammers posing as officials from some law enforcement-related institution or the other — anything from police to courts — and telling people through online communication that they are “under arrest” for some (imaginary) violation of the law.

Singapore man fined SGD 3,500 for Instagram ‘joke’ about blowing up Etihad Airways flight departing from Changi Airport

The convict, Azim Shah Abubakar Shah, aged 22, was a national serviceman with the Singapore Civil Defence Force. He was travelling overseas on vacation in February 2025 when he cracked this sick joke. He was fined on October 6 for the offence.

Singapore defence ministry warns of “bulk order” scam by SAF personnel impostors

In its Facebook post, MINDEF Singapore said: “The SAF has observed a number of allegedly fraudulent bulk orders made by individuals claiming to be SAF personnel. The SAF takes a serious view of this. For the 7 cases that we are aware of, we have not found any evidence that these individuals are affliated with the SAF, and have made reports to the Police on them.”

How did she die? Singapore small business owner found dead a day after post about Indian worker’s fake injury claim

Singapore eatery Sumo Salad owner Jane Lee wrote two lengthy Facebook posts on July 18. In one post, she gave details of what she had observed about the employee — “Sran Kiranjeet Kaur, a worker from India” — and why she believed that the workplace injury compensation claim was a scam, “a carefully orchestrated scheme” of extortion. The next day, she was dead. Singapore Police are investigating the case. Singapore Government is looking into the alleged scam.

9 people lose Singapore work pass and visit pass for “illegal touting” at Changi Airport

The Changi travellers were being asked by the nine people to hand over the gold and mobile phones to contacts in their home countries in exchange for a cash reward. This was “illegal touting”, as per Singapore law.

Digital arrest: Frightening and painful scam that robs victims of their life’s savings

With several cases reported from Singapore and India recently, the modus operandi of digital arrest is to make victims believe that they are under the scanner of law enforcement and that they must fully “co-operate with the police” in order to avoid criminal prosecution. As expected, this “co-operation” involves handing over financial control to the scammers, after which the victim is bled dry.

About Hashtag: #Crime