SINGAPORE: Singapore police have arrested a 73-year-old Malaysian woman suspected of being involved in at least three cases where scammers posed as government officials.
The woman is believed to have been a mule in the scams. The police seized cash amounting to S$200 (US$154) and gold bars worth about $200,000 from her on Nov 24.
In a statement on Nov 30, the police said they received reports between Oct 8 and Nov 24 about the impersonation of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officials.
On Nov 24, an employee at gold and silver dealer BullionStar along New Bridge Road alerted the police to a woman loitering suspiciously outside the retail premises.
Officers from the Central Police Division arrested the woman on the same day.
Police said victims were told that their bank accounts had been linked to money laundering activities or that their personal information had been compromised.
The victims were instructed to surrender their money and valuables for investigations. They met unknown individuals at various places across Singapore to hand over cash and gold bars.
When they did not receive refunds promised to them or when the scammers became uncontactable, the victims realised that they had been scammed.
The Malaysian woman had allegedly been facilitating the operations of a scam syndicate by collecting cash and gold bars from victims of the scam across Singapore, according to preliminary investigations.
Investigations into the woman’s actions are ongoing, said the police.
People need to remain vigilant and not transfer or hand over money and valuables to unknown people whose identities have not been verified, or leave these somewhere to be collected, the police said.
Government officials, the police added, will not ask people to transfer money, disclose banking details or install mobile apps from unofficial app stores over the phone.
If in doubt, the public can call the ScamShield helpline on 1799 to check.
Those with information on scams can call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000, or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness
All information will be kept confidential, the police said. - The Straits Times/ANN
