The Police have arrested a 23-year-old Malaysian man for his suspected involvement in a case of impersonation of Police officer scam involving $270,000.
On 14 July 2017, the Police received a report from a 39-year-old woman who had received a call on 11 July 2017 from an unknown person who claimed to be a Police officer. The victim was told that she was being investigated by the Police for money laundering offences. The call was then transferred to an unknown person who identified himself to be a Police officer from a foreign country. Subsequently, the victim was told to provide her mobile number, bank account number, and credit card details. Thereafter, the victim was provided a web-link which purportedly listed her as a “suspect” in a money laundering case, inducing further fear in the victim.
On 12 and 13 July 2017, the victim met up with a few unknown men and handed over cash amounting to $270,000 on two separate occasions in the vicinity of Tiong Bahru Market and Kramat Lane to verify the authenticity of her cash so as to absolve her from alleged involvement in money laundering activities.
Through extensive investigative enquiries, officers from the Central Police Division established the identities of suspects. Three of them were arrested on 20 July 2017 and 25 August 2017 and one was charged in Court on 22 July 2017.
On 19 October 2017, through the assistance and close collaboration with the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP), the 23-year-old man was arrested in Malaysia. He was subsequently extradited back to Singapore on 20 October 2017 and will be charged on 21 October 2017 with the offence of Cheating with common intention under Section 420 read with Section 34 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224. If convicted, he is liable to an imprisonment term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to a fine.
Commander of Central Police Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Arthur Law, expressed his appreciation to RMP for their assistance in the arrest and said, “The arrest of the suspect was made possible through the strong support of the RMP, whom we share close ties with. The SPF will do its utmost to track down those who have committed crimes here and flee Singapore thereafter. With the assistance of our counterparts from foreign law enforcement agencies, we will ensure that justice is served.”
Members of the public are advised to take the following 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 instructions 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 a crime or if you are in doubt, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or dial 999 for urgent Police assistance.
To seek scam-related advice, members of the public may call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 or go to www.scamalert.sg. Please share this advisory with your family and friends to prevent them from being the next scam victim.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
20 October 2017 @ 11:20 PM