SINGAPORE: Two Malaysian men are set to be charged on Oct 21 after a woman in Singapore lost about $23,500 in cash and valuables to scammers.
The duo, aged 25 and 26, are believed to have been involved in a government official impersonation scam, police said in a statement on Oct 20.
Police said they received a report on Oct 15 that a 40-year-old woman was contacted about a delivery on Oct 13 by someone claiming to represent Harvey Norman.
When the woman denied making any purchases, she was informed that her identity might have been misused and a police report would be filed on her behalf.
On Oct 14, a second person, also claiming to represent Harvey Norman, contacted the victim and guided her to cancel the orders.
She was also advised to contact a purported Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) employee via a designated WhatsApp number.
After doing so, the woman spoke with two individuals who instructed her to share her screen and log into her bank accounts under the pretext of checking them.
She was further instructed to disclose her internet banking credentials and one-time passwords, approve all transactions conducted in her bank accounts, photograph her jewellery and cash, and hand them over to a representative for further checks.
She then met an unknown man outside her residence and handed over $3,500 in cash and about $20,000 in foreign currency and jewellery.
The police said the woman realised that she had been scammed only after visiting MAS in person and being informed that none of the individuals she had been communicating with were legitimate MAS staff.
Officers from the police’s Cyber Command later identified the man who met the victim and arrested him on Oct 19, along with a male accomplice.
The accomplice was found in possession of 17 pieces of gold jewellery believed to be scam proceeds.
A follow-up raid at a budget hotel recovered $55,000 in cash and 24 pieces of gold jewellery, police said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the two men had been tasked by alleged members of a transnational scam syndicate to collect valuables or cash from scam victims and hand them over to other unknown individuals.
The two men are expected to be charged in court on Oct 21 with abetment by conspiracy to assist another person to retain benefits from criminal conduct.
If found guilty, they could face up to 10 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.
In their statement, the police said they continued to observe an increasing trend of Malaysian nationals travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash, gold and valuables from scam victims.
Scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least six strokes, up to a maximum of 24 strokes, they said.
Scam mules who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.
The police reminded the public not to transfer cash, jewellery, or other valuables to unknown people, share their device screens, or disclose their login credentials.
They also warned against leaving money or valuables at a location for collection.
Members of the public with information about such crimes, or who are unsure, can call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.
Those looking for more information on scams can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline on 1799.
