In a ceremony held at Central Police Division today, Ms Thng, Ms Han and Mr. Li from Hanshan Money Express Remittance were commended for their public-spiritedness. With their assistance, Police was able to foil a scam attempt involving $180,000.
On 24 June 2016 at about 4.30pm, the Police were alerted to a suspected case of cheating by a staff from Hanshan Money Express Remittance. Upon receipt of the report, officers from Central Division responded to the case and ascertained that the 80-year-old victim had been scammed into remitting S$180,000 to an overseas account.
Investigations revealed that on 17 June 2016, the victim had received a phone call claiming that she had an illegal parcel overseas. The call was then transferred to another person claiming to be a Police Officer. The victim was threatened with imprisonment if she did not cooperate with the caller. The caller subsequently instructed the victim to call back at designated timings. On a claim to verify the source of funds in her bank account, the victim was directed to meet a female suspect, who then escorted her to make withdrawals from the bank before proceeding to the remittance company.
At the remittance company, staff attending to the victim suspected something was amiss and began to probe on the purpose of the remittance. The victim was unable to provide a good reason and upon leaving the premises, staff from Hanshan Money Express Remittance immediately alerted the Police.
Through extensive efforts by officers from Central Division and Commercial Affairs Department, the identity of the suspect was established with the assistance of the remittance company. The 65-year-old female suspect is currently assisting with Police investigations. Due to the timely intervention, the money was fully recovered and has since been returned to the victim.
The Police advise members of public to take precautions when they receive unsolicited calls, especially from unknown parties:
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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.
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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.
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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 username and password, OTP code from token, is useful to criminals.
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Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. You may be overwhelmed by emotion and err in your judgment.
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If you have information related to such crime or if you are in doubt, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or dial 999 for urgent Police assistance.
From Left to Right: Mr Li Shu, Staff of Hanshan Money Express Remittance, Ms Thng Koon Eng, Managing Director Hanshan Money Express Remittance, Commander of Central Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police, Arthur Law, Ms Clara Ong, Staff of Hanshan Money Express Remittance (receiving the award on behalf of her colleagues Ms Han)
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
07 July 2016 @ 12:00 PM