A Remittance Company, Hanshan Money Express Pte Ltd has foiled two scam attempts involving a total sum of $30,900.
On 6 November 2017 at about 3pm and 5pm, the Police were alerted by staff from Hanshan Money Express Pte Ltd to two suspected cases of cheating. Upon the receipt of report, officers from Commercial Affairs Department and Central Police Division responded to the cases and ascertained that two victims, aged 41 and 25 had been scammed into remitting $29,000 and $1,900 respectively to overseas bank accounts.
Investigations revealed that on 6 November 2017, the victims received phone calls claiming to be from the Police Headquarters and were informed that they were under investigation for money laundering activities. Shortly after, the victims were provided with instructions on the transfer of monies for investigation purpose. The victims complied and proceeded to a remittance company to execute the instructions.
At the remittance company, the staff who attended to the victims suspected something was amiss and informed their supervisor, who, in turn, notified the Police. Due to the timely intervention by Hanshan Money Express Pte Ltd, a total of $30,900 was fully recovered.
The Police would like to commend Hanshan Money Express Pte Ltd for their timely intervention that helped to foil the scam attempts. These cases also highlight the importance of partnership with the community in fighting crime.
The Police would like to advise members of public to take precautions when they receive calls 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.
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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.
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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.
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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
07 November 2017 @ 8:23 PM