73-year-old woman who lost S$30K to fake MAS official helps police in sting operation
An elderly woman in Singapore who fell prey to a phone scam involving an individual pretending to be a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officer helped the police catch the culprit when he tried to fool her again.
The woman, 73-year-old Madam Chua Yi Leong (transliterated from Chinese), said the scammer first contacted her on 8 July and accused her of being involved in a money laundering case.
He knew her full name and NRIC number, which made her believe he was legitimate.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Scammer demanded S$30K & warned her not to tell family
“He told me I had to hand over some money for investigations, and it would be returned after they checked everything,” Madam Chua told Shin Min Daily News (SMDN).
“He also warned that if I didn’t comply, I could go to jail, and kept telling me not to tell my family.”
Frightened, she went to a POSB branch in Clementi that same afternoon and withdrew S$30,000 in cash across two ATM transactions.
She then returned to her daughter’s home in Pasir Panjang, where she handed the cash to a man who turned up at the door.
“The man was wearing a hat and a mask at the time. He didn’t say anything. He just took the money and left,” said Madam Chua.
She had wanted to take a photo of him, but the scammer on the phone stopped her from doing so.
Pic courtesy of MS News
Later, she received a forged MAS letter supposedly acknowledging receipt of the money and assuring her it would be processed properly.
It was not until her grandson read the letter that the family realised it was a scam.
Her daughter then immediately called the police.
Victim sets trap for scammer with police
The very next day, the scammer contacted her again — this time from a different phone number — and asked for another S$30,000.
Madam Chua’s younger daughter took over the phone and pretended to play along.
“We took advantage of the situation and arranged a time and place with the other party to pay the money,” Madam Chua said, adding that the police were also in the loop.
To avoid suspicion, Madam Chua even told the scammer she had leg pain and asked him to help her book a ride to the bank, SMDN said.
She and her daughter informed the bank staff of the situation and were given an envelope stuffed with paper to act as a decoy.
Madam Chua then returned to her daughter’s house to wait for the scammer.
‘MAS officer’ scammer gets caught
When the same man arrived to collect the second “payment”, he was cautious and kept looking around.
After taking the envelope, he tried to leave, but plainclothes officers lying in wait nearby quickly arrested him.
Madam Chua said she does not expect to get her money back but hopes her story serves as a warning to other elderly people.
“I know the chances of getting my money back are slim,” she said.
“But I hope by sharing this, other seniors will be more cautious and not fall for such scams like I did.”
Last year, more government official impersonation scams were reported, with at least 1,100 cases in the first 10 months of 2024 alone.
This is almost double that of the same period in 2023, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a joint statement.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Centra Wealth Group. Image on the right for illustration purposes only.
