Staff of Zhongguo Remittance Pte Ltd has foiled a scam attempt involving $8,500. This is the third scam foiled by the company.
On 11 August 2016 at about 5.30pm, Police were alerted by Miss Wang Meiqin, a staff from Zhongguo Remittance Pte Ltd to a suspected case of cheating. Officers from Central Division and Commercial Affairs Department responded to the case and ascertained that a 22-year-old victim was believed to have been scammed into remitting $8,500 to an overseas account.
Investigations revealed that on 11 August 2016 at about 9.50am, the victim received a phone call informing that a parcel containing prohibited items had been sent under his name to Shanghai. The call was then transferred to someone claiming to be a police officer from Shanghai, who told the victim that he was being investigated for money laundering offences in Shanghai and required him to provide his bank details. Shortly after, the call was routed to another person claiming to be a supervisor of the police officer who provided further instructions on the transfer of monies. The victim proceeded to his regular remittance company to transfer the monies as instructed.
At the remittance company, Miss Li Chun Li who attended to the victim suspected something was amiss and informed her supervisor, Miss Wang who notified the Police. Officers from Central Division and Commercial Affairs Department responded swiftly to the scene and it was revealed through further investigations that the victim had been scammed. Due to the timely intervention by Miss Li and Miss Wang, the $8,500 was fully recovered. This case highlights the strong Police-Community Partnership in crime fighting.
The Police would like to advise members of public to take precautions when they receive unsolicited calls, especially from unknown parties:
-
Ignore the calls. Scammers may use Caller ID spoofing technology to mask the actual phone number and display a different number. Calls that appear to be from a local number may not actually be made from Singapore. If you receive a suspicious call from a local number, hang up, wait five minutes, then call the number back to check the validity of the request.
-
Ignore instruction to remit or transfer money. No government agency will inform you to make a payment through a telephone call, especially to a third party's bank account.
-
Refrain from giving out personal information and bank details, whether on the website or to callers over the phone. Personal information and bank details such as internet bank account usernames and passwords, OTP codes from tokens, are useful to criminals.
-
Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. You may be overwhelmed by emotion and err in your judgment.
-
If you have information related to such crime or if you are in doubt, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or dial 999 for urgent Police assistance.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
12 August 2016 @ 12:40 PM