The Police would like to warn members of the public about scammers offering money changing or cross-border money transfer services online. Since January 2022, at least 116 victims have lost at least $1 million, when they engaged these unknown parties to change money or perform cross-border money transfer services.
Victims would be enticed by favourable exchange rates offered by scammers providing money changing or cross-border money transfer services on e-commerce or social media platforms (e.g. WeChat, Facebook or Carousell). These scammers would request for the victims to transfer money to a bank account. The victims would realise they had been scammed when they did not receive the currencies they had exchanged, or when the intended recipients of the transfer did not receive the funds.
The Police would like to encourage members of the public to utilise the services of payment service providers licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Members of the public can refer to https://eservices.mas.gov.sg/fid to view the list of payment service providers licensed by the MAS. Unlicensed payment service operators are not subjected to strict anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing measures. Money collected from the public may become co-mingled with illicit proceeds from crimes, such as scams. If the co-mingled funds are sent to the beneficiaries’ account, the account may be frozen or seized and subject to scrutiny by the authorities.
Scammers masquerading as unlicensed payment service providers may also defraud you of the funds intended for currency exchange or cross-border money transfers. For more information on the risks from dealing with unregulated entities, you may refer to: https://www.moneysense.gov.sg/articles/2018/11/dealing-with-unregulated-persons.
The Police will not hesitate to take action against any individuals or entities involved in conducting unlicensed money changing or cross-border money transfer services. If you have information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. Please call ‘999’ if you require urgent Police assistance.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Join the ‘Spot the Signs. Stop the Crimes’ campaign at www.scamalert.sg/fight by signing up as an advocate to receive up-to-date messages and share them with your family and friends. Together, we can help stop scams and prevent our loved ones from becoming the next victim.
Example of a conversation on WeChat offering money changing services:
Example of a conversation on Facebook offering money changing service:
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
23 December 2022 @ 1:16 PM