SINGAPORE: Two Malaysians have been arrested here for their suspected roles in a scam involving the impersonation of government officials.
This brings the total number of Malaysians arrested in Singapore since March for helping scam syndicates to collect valuables to 19, the police said in a statement on Tuesday (April 28).
The latest suspects, a 27-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman, are believed to be linked to the same scam syndicate.
They are expected to be charged on Wednesday (April 29) with the offence of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct.
The police said they received information on April 27 that the Malaysian man had entered Singapore on a suspected assignment arranged by scam syndicates to collect cash and gold bars from a victim.
Officers from the Anti-Scam Command arrested the man within four hours of the operation, when he was allegedly on his way to collect around S$100,000 worth of gold bars from a 71-year-old victim.
The victim had received a call from an unknown person claiming to be from Simba Telecom, said the police. The caller informed the victim that his particulars had been misused to open a bank account that was involved in receiving criminal proceeds.
When the victim denied having signed up for such a bank account, the call was transferred to scammers who said they were representatives of the Ministry of Law. They led him to believe that he was under investigation for money laundering offences, added the police.
The victim was then instructed by the scammers to show proof that his funds were clean and untainted by purchasing around $100,000 worth of gold bars.
The victim was on his way to hand over the gold bars to the Malaysian man when the police intervened, said the statement. The gold bars were not handed over to the scammers.
Later that day, officers identified the Malaysian woman, who is linked to the same scam syndicate operating the scam, said the police.
She was acting as a mule to collect cash, gold and other valuables from victims. After collecting the items, she would take them back to Malaysia.
During her arrest, jewellery belonging to a 54-year-old scam victim was recovered.
The victim had received a call from an unknown person claiming to be from Standard Chartered Bank. She was told that her particulars had been used in money laundering activities and that she was being investigated by the police.
The call was then transferred to scammers pretending to be officers from the Singapore Police Force who also led her to believe she was under investigation for money laundering.
To prove her innocence, she was instructed to hand over $24,000 worth of valuables and jewellery to the Malaysian woman. The police were able to recover these during the operation on April 27.
If found guilty, the man and woman could each face up to 10 years behind bars, a fine not exceeding $500,000 or both.
The police said they continue to observe an increasing trend of Malaysian nationals travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash and other valuables from scam victims.
Members of the public are advised to never transfer cash, jewellery or other valuables to unknown or unverified persons. They should also never leave money or other valuables at a location to facilitate subsequent collection, and never disclose login credentials to unknown people.
The police added that Singapore government officials will never ask for money to be transferred over the phone or request banking login details. They will also not transfer calls to the police or instruct people to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores. - The Straits Times/ANN
