On 12 April 2022, the Police received a report that a 23-year-old woman (“the victim”) had allegedly been kidnapped. Prior to the report, the parents of the victim, who were based in China, received a video of the victim with her hands and legs tied up. The video was accompanied with a ransom demand from an unknown person communicating in Chinese.
Following the report, officers from Jurong Police Division, Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department and Commercial Affairs Department conducted extensive follow-up investigations and tracked down the victim on the same day in a hotel. She was established to be a victim of a China Official Impersonation Scam.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the victim had received an unsolicited call sometime in April 2023, purportedly from an Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer. The scammer alleged that the victim had a parcel detained at the customs which contained illegal COVID-19 medicine. 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” six times a day over a social media communication platform.
The scammer further told the victim that she might be deported back to her home country if she was not able to furnish the bail amount. Under such ruse, the victim was deceived into transferring RMB 150,000 as “bail” to a bank account controlled by the scammer.
Sometime on 10 April 2022, 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 and legs 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 the 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.
Another two men and a woman were traced by the Police between 12 and 13 April 2023 for their suspected involvement in the case. They were found to have fallen for similar ruses used by the scammer and were also alleged to have committed money-laundering offences. One of them was deceived to transfer up to RMB 891,000 for the purported purpose of “bail” and investigation.
The Police would like to highlight that overseas law enforcement agencies (LEAs) 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!
Images of fake official documents ▼
Seized exhibits ▼
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
15 April 2023 @ 11:15 AM