Zhongguo Remittance Pte Ltd has foiled a scam attempt involving $1,000.
On 3 August 2016 at about 5.00pm, the Police were alerted by Miss Sun Lin Lin, a staff from Zhongguo Remittance Pte Ltd to a suspected case of cheating. Upon the receipt of report, officers from Central Division and Commercial Affairs Department responded to the case and ascertained that a 25-year-old victim had been scammed into remitting $1,000 to an overseas account.
Investigations revealed that on 3 August 2016 at about 12.50pm, the victim received a phone call claiming that he had a parcel containing illegal items sent under his name to Shanghai which was withheld at Changi Airport. The call was then transferred to someone claiming to be a Shanghai police officer, who told the victim that he was being investigated for money laundering offences in Shanghai and required him to provide his bank details. Shortly after, the call was routed to another person claiming to be a Shanghai police officer who provided further instructions on the transfer of monies. The victim complied and proceeded to his regular remittance company to execute the instructions.
At the remittance company, Ms Sun who attended to the victim suspected something was amiss and informed her supervisor who notified the Police.
Officers from Central Division and Commercial Affairs Department responded swiftly to the scene and it was revealed through further investigations that the victim had been scammed. However, due to the timely intervention by Ms Sun, the $1,000 was fully recovered.
This case highlights the strong Police-Community Partnership in crime fighting. The Police would like to commend Ms Sun Lin Lin for her timely intervention that helped in deterring a scam.
The Police would like to 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 usernames and passwords, OTP codes from tokens, are 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.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
04 August 2016 @ 10:30 AM