On 17 April 2023, the Police received a report that a 19-year-old woman (“the victim”) had allegedly been kidnapped. Prior to the report, the victim’s parents, who were based in China, received a video of the victim clad in torn clothing with her hands tied. The video was accompanied with a ransom demand from an unknown person communicating in Mandarin. The victim’s parents contacted the teacher based in Singapore, who in turn reported the incident to the Police.
Following the report, officers from Clementi Police Division, Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department and Commercial Affairs Department conducted extensive follow-up investigations and tracked down the victim within six hours at Woodlands Checkpoint. She was subsequently established to be a victim of a China Official Impersonation Scam.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim had received an unsolicited call sometime in early April 2023, purportedly from an Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer. The scammer alleged that the victim had spread false news on COVID-19 in Guangzhou, China. The victim was then routed to another scammer who masqueraded as the “China Police” for investigations. As part of the purported ongoing investigations, the victim was made to report to the “China Police” in real time through continuous video calls 24/7 over a messaging application on her mobile phone.
The scammer further told the victim that she might be deported back to her home country to face prosecution if she was unable to furnish the bail amount. Under such ruse, the victim was requested to furnish RMB 1,000,000 as “bail”. The victim could not raise the bail amount. Consequently, she was told to record and provide nude videos of herself to prove her innocence for a separate criminal case. The victim complied out of fear and in her confused state.
Sometime on 17 April 2023, the scammer instructed the victim to isolate herself and cease communication with others, to facilitate their investigations. The scammer instructed the victim to take a video recording of herself with her hands tied up to pretend that she had been captured. The victim was also told that the video would be used for their investigations to lure and arrest other syndicate members.
Unbeknownst to the victim, the scammers sent threats using the victim’s self-recorded video to her parents. Pursuant to the police report, the Police responded swiftly and tracked down the victim. Police investigations into the case are ongoing.
The Police would like to highlight that overseas law enforcement agencies have no jurisdiction to conduct operations in Singapore, arrest anyone or ask members of the public to help with any form of investigations without the approval of the Singapore Government. The Police take a serious view against any person who may be involved in scams, whether knowingly or unwittingly, and they will be dealt with firmly, in accordance with the law.
The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- ADD - ScamShield App and set security features (e.g., enable two-factor (2FA) or multifactor authentication for banks, social media, Singpass accounts; set transaction limits on internet banking transactions). Do not send or transfer money to anyone whom you do not know or have not met in person before.
- CHECK - For scam signs and with official sources (e.g., visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688).
Beware of phone calls from unknown numbers (with or without the “+” prefix) and refrain from giving out personal information and bank details to callers over the phone. Government agencies will not ask for your bank account usernames and passwords.
- TELL – Inform the authorities, family, and friends about scams and do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.
If you have any 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. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
19 April 2023 @ 12:25 PM