38-year-old is 2nd Malaysian arrested in 2 days over govt official impersonation scams
A 38-year-old Malaysian man has been arrested and charged for his alleged involvement in a government official impersonation scam (GOIS).
He allegedly assisted a scam where a victim lost more than S$130,000 in gold, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in a news release sent to MS News.
Source: Jingming Pan on Unsplash. Photo for illustration purposes only.
Victim gets call from ‘HSBC Bank’ & ‘CAD officer’
The victim had received a call from an unknown caller who claimed to be from HSBC Bank, SPF said.
She was told that unauthorised transactions had been made on her HSBC credit card, but she replied that she did not have one.
The call was then transferred to an “officer from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD)”, who said she was suspected of being involved in money laundering.
She would thus have to assist in an “investigation” to prove that she was innocent.
Victim buys S$130K of gold & leaves it in her unlocked car
The victim was instructed to withdraw S$15,000 that was deposited into her bank account and purchase gold at pawnbroker Maxi-Cash.
Source: Google Maps
She proceeded to buy more than S$130,000 worth of gold and, as instructed, left it on the passenger seat of her unlocked car, which was parked in a carpark in the vicinity of Upper Boon Keng Road.
She was then told to leave, as the gold was being used to lure the scammer.
Woman makes police report after realising she was scammed
10 minutes later, she was called and told that the scammer had been arrested and the gold was moved to her car boot.
Thus, she was supposed to meet an “investigator” at the Police Cantonment Complex.
However, she realised she had been scammed when she could not find the gold in her boot and nobody met her at Police Cantonment Complex.
She made a police report on Wednesday (4 March).
Man arrested on 6 March, fake staff passes found on him
Real CAD officers conducted “extensive follow-up investigations” and identified the 38-year-old Malaysian.
He was arrested on Friday (6 March) in the vicinity of Woodlands.
Fake staff passes were found on him and seized as evidence. He is believed to have used them to identify himself before collecting cash and valuables from scam victims.
Source: Singapore Police Force
Fake documents, which he allegedly used to impersonate fraudulent companies, were also found and seized.
Source: Singapore Police Force
Man charged on 7 March, faces jail & fine
According to preliminary investigations, the man had allegedly been tasked by unknown people believed to be from a transnational scam syndicate to collect documents, valuables or cash from victims and hand it to other unknown people.
On Saturday (7 March), he was charged with assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992.
If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to 10 years and/or a fine of up to S$500,000.
2nd Malaysian charged over govt official impersonation scam in 2 days
The man is the second Malaysian arrested and charged in Singapore for this offence in two days.
The first case involved a victim who was called by someone claiming to be from Harvey Norman, said SPF in a news release on 5 March.
The call was purportedly about the purchase of an electrical appliance costing more than S$10,000, but the victim said he did not make the purchase.
The victim was advised to check his bank account for unauthorised transactions and call the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) at a number provided by the caller.
Source: Google Maps
Victim hands jewellery worth S$28K to M’sian
The victim was later called by another person claiming to be an MAS officer.
The scammer informed him that he was involved in a criminal case, and told him to hand his jewellery to an “undercover agent” for investigations.
He subsequently handed over jewellery worth more than S$28,000 to a 44-year-old Malaysian man in the vicinity of Telok Blangah Rise.
44-year-old Malaysian charged over govt official impersonation scam
The victim later made a police report on Wednesday. SPF did not mention how he realised that he had been scammed.
Officers from Tanglin Police Division and CAD identified the man, who was arrested in the vicinity of Bishan.
Like the other Malaysian, he had also allegedly been tasked to transfer valuables or cash from victims to others.
The 44-year-old Malaysian allegedly changed into different clothes when meeting victims.
He was charged on 6 March for his alleged involvement in a GOIS.
More M’sians coming to S’pore to assist scammers
SPF said it has observed “an increasing trend” of Malaysians travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash and valuables from scam victims.
It noted that scammers and scam syndicate members face between six and 24 strokes of the cane, and scam mules who launder scam proceeds face up to 12 strokes, adding:
The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
Also read: M’sian linked to Cambodia scam syndicate arrested while entering S’pore via Woodlands Checkpoint
M’sian linked to Cambodia scam syndicate arrested while entering S’pore via Woodlands Checkpoint
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Police Force.
