Poon Hong Kuan, 17, and Chow Zhi Hong, 33, were accused of dishonestly receiving S$100,000 (RM300,000) in stolen property from a man known as Chow Wai Chung, Singapore’s Straits Times reported.

The pair are accused of committing the offence last Friday.

The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) arrested them three days later on Monday.

Police, in a statement, said the two Malaysians allegedly received criminal proceeds linked to such scams.

Officers seized S$590,000 in cash.

This amount was the largest amount seized for any scam cases so far this year.

The pair are believed to be involved in other similar cases.

There were 80 victims of such offences between January and April this year, more than double the 30 victims of such scams in the same period last year.

CAD director David Chew said such scams involve overseas syndicates that use automated phone calls and call-spoofing technology as well as social media messaging platforms to target victims.

He advised those receiving calls demanding for payments to ignore them and avoid giving personal information.

The two men were refused bail and will be brought to court again on June 13.

They can be jailed for up to five years and fined if found guilty.

Last night, a joint Malaysian-Thai police operation in Penang crippled a Taiwanese-led “Macau Scam” syndicate operating from a bungalow on the island.

Police nabbed two suspected Taiwanese masterminds and 10 Thais, comprising five men and five women.

Last month, the Thais managed to cheat their victims into transferring about 400,000 baht (RM51,000) in favour of the syndicate.