M'sian man nabbed after withdrawal request for $180k cheque at UOB in scam targeting 65-year-old woman
A 44-year-old man has been arrested and charged for his suspected involvement in a government official impersonation scam.
Malaysian national Jong Yew Sin was handed one charge of abetment by conspiracy to fraudulently use as genuine a forged document purported to be a valuable security and another charge of fraudulent possession
The police said they received a call for assistance from United Overseas Bank (UOB) at around 12.30pm on Aug 30 regarding a suspicious over-the-counter cash cheque withdrawal request by Jong at one of their branches.
Through swift follow-up investigations and close collaboration with vigilant bank staff, officers from the AntiScam Command (ASCom) and Central Police Division established Jong's identity and arrested him within 30 minutes of the report.
Preliminary investigations revealed that he had allegedly tried to facilitate the encashment of a cash cheque for $180,000. The cheque was linked to a report about the impersonation of a government official, supposedly from the Ministry of Law.
The 65-year-old victim was allegedly told on Aug 29 that she had been implicated in a case of money-laundering, and was required to consolidate and transfer all her funds from various bank accounts to her UOB account for 'investigation purposes'. She was also allegedly assured that the funds would be returned once investigations were completed.
The victim complied with the scammers' instructions and transferred close to $40,000 to an unknown OCBC account. She also purportedly handed over five pre-signed blank cheques to an unknown person posing as an investigations officer in the vicinity of her residence on Aug 30.
Investigations further revealed that Jong had been instructed by a scam syndicate to receive one of the victim's pre-signed cheques from an unknown person. He had attempted to encash the cheque at UOB Raffles Place, before the bank alerted the police.
A cash cheque and two unknown Malaysian UOB ATM cards were found in his possession and seized as case exhibits.
It was revealed that Jong had been allegedly recruited by an overseas scam syndicate to collect and deliver cash in Singapore.
Jong's case was adjourned for investigations to be completed and will be heard again on Sept 29.
The police said they take a serious stance against anyone who may be involved in scams. Perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
Members of the public are reminded never to transfer monies or hand monies/valuables to any unknown persons or persons whose identity you did not verify.
Singapore government officials will never ask you to do the following over a phone call:
- Ask you to transfer money;
- Ask you to disclose banking log-in details;
- Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores; and
- Ask you to hand over any pre-signed cash cheques to anyone
- Transfer your call to the police
If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, 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. For urgent police assistance, dial '999'.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield helpline at 1799.
