Zhongguo Remittance Pte Ltd and Hanshan Money Express Pte Ltd foiled two separate scam attempts involving a total of $8,500.
On 1 September 2016 at about 1.00pm, the Police were alerted by Mr Shi Ze, 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 lady had been scammed into remitting $5,000 to an overseas account.
Investigation revealed that on 1 September 2016 at about 9.00am, the victim received a phone call from an unknown lady claiming that she had won a “prize money” through a lucky draw in Hong Kong. The victim was then instructed to transfer $5,000 to a specific bank account as processing fee for the prize, through a remittance company.
At the remittance company, Mr Shi, who attended to the victim, suspected something was amiss and informed his supervisor, Mr Lee Yong Jie, who then notified the Police.
Separately, on the same day at about 6.00pm, the Police were alerted by Ms Yang Weichan, a staff from Hanshan Money Express Pte Ltd to another case of suspected cheating. Upon the receipt of report, officers from Central Division and Commercial Affairs Department responded to the case and ascertained that a 37-year-old man had been scammed into remitting $3,500 to an overseas account.
Investigations revealed that on 1 September 2016 at about 7.30am, the victim received a phone call from an unknown man claiming that he had a parcel containing “prohibited medications” sent under his name to China which had been withheld at the Shanghai Customs. 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 and required him to provide his particulars and bank details. Shortly after, the call was transferred to a third person also claiming to be a Shanghai police officer, who instructed the victim to transfer $3,500 to a specified bank account, through a remittance company.
At the remittance company, Ms Yang, who attended to the victim, suspected something was amiss and informed her supervisor, Mr Lin Jin Xian, who then notified the Police.
Due to the timely intervention by Mr Shi and Ms Yang, the total sum of $8,500 was fully recovered.
These cases highlight the strong Police-Community partnership in crime fighting. The Police would like to commend Mr Shi, Mr Lee, Ms Yang and Mr Lin for their timely intervention that helped in foiling the scam.
The Police would like to advise members of public to adopt the following 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
02 September 2016 @ 12:30 PM