Woman told to transfer $1m from bank account to credit card, use $412k to buy gold at Mustafa Centre
Two Malaysian men, aged 22 and 38, will be charged for their suspected involvement in separate cases of a Government Official Impersonation Scam (GOIS).
The police received a report on Nov 7, involving scammers who impersonated officials purportedly from the Ministry of Law and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The victim first received a call from someone claiming to be from a bank, who alleged that a credit card had been applied under her name. The call was then transferred to people posing as government officials, who told her she was being investigated for money laundering.
To lend credibility to their deception, the scammers presented her with fake staff passes and documents via WhatsApp.
The victim was then instructed to transfer $1 million from her bank account to her credit card and to use it to purchase gold worth over $412,000 from Mustafa Centre. She was told to hand the gold to an unknown person on the same day.
The victim lodged a police report after sensing something amiss.
Through extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command of the Commercial Affairs Department established the identity of the unknown person and arrested a 38-year-old man when he re-entered Singapore on Nov 8. A 22-year-old man involved in similar cases was also arrested on the same day.
Preliminary investigations revealed that both men were allegedly tasked by unknown persons, believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate, to collect cash and valuables from scam victims before handing them over to others.
The two men will be charged in court on Nov 10 with abetment by conspiracy to assist another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. The offence carries a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both.
Police said they have observed an increasing trend of Malaysian nationals travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash, gold and valuables from victims.
They reminded members of the public never to hand over money or valuables to unknown persons, share their device screens, or install mobile apps from unofficial app stores.
Government officials, including those from Ministry of Law and MAS, will never ask the public to transfer money, disclose bank login details, or transfer calls to the police.
Anyone with information on such crimes can call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit details online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
