A scam attempt involving $500,000 was foiled by the Police, in partnership with QCP Capital Pte Ltd, a digital asset trading firm based in Singapore.
28 October 2021 at about 7.30pm, the Police were alerted by the staff of QCP Capital Pte Ltd to a suspected case of cheating. Officers from the Anti-Scam Centre of the Commercial Affairs Department responded to the case and ascertained that a 59-year-old woman had been scammed into providing her personal details and bank account credentials.
Investigations revealed that on 22 October 2021, the victim had received a call from an automated voice machine. The man, who claimed to be from the High Court, purportedly informed the victim that she had been implicated in a money laundering case by an accused person. When the victim denied knowing the accused person, the man advised the victim to lodge a report. The call was then allegedly transferred to someone claiming to be Inspector Lim from the Singapore Police Force. The victim was then purportedly instructed by the inspector to provide her personal particulars and all her banking account details including Internet banking credentials for the purpose of police investigations. The victim was also instructed to download a messaging application to report her daily movement.
On 28 October 2021, QCP Capital Pte Ltd discovered discrepancies when a new customer using the identity of the victim had tried to register an account online with the company. After performing due diligence checks as part of the on-boarding process, QCP Capital Pte Ltd suspected something was amiss and quickly notified the Police. Due to the timely intervention, the Police managed to convince the victim that she had fallen prey to a Government Officials Impersonation Scam and successfully foiled the scam attempt involving a sum of $500,000.
This case highlights the strong partnership between the Police and the community in crime fighting and scam prevention. The Police would like to recognise QCP Capital Pte Ltd and its staff for their vigilance, resulting in the timely intervention that helped foil the scam attempt.
Between January and September this year, there were at least 50 victims who were deceived by scammers impersonating High Court officials, with at least $6.8 million lost. The Police would like to remind members of the public to be vigilant and wary of persons who may impersonate government officials, such as High Court officials or police officers. The Police will not request victims to assist in their investigation by providing their bank account numbers, internet banking username and password. No government official would also identify themselves by sending a picture of their warrant cards, or official documents via social media app as these are confidential documents.
The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt 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 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 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 dial ‘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.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
17 December 2021 @ 11:30 AM