A 31-year-old Malaysian man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a scam that impersonated staff from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
He is also believed to be involved in other cases of Government Official Impersonation Scam (GOIS).
In a statement issued on Thursday (21 Aug), the police revealed that they received several GOIS reports between 12 July and 8 Aug.
Victims had handed over cash to an “unknown man” after being contacted by scammers.
The scam began with the victims being contacted by individuals claiming to be from the MAS, who would inform the victims that their bank accounts had been implicated in money laundering or that their personal information had been compromised.
Victims were then prompted to surrender their money and valuables or make transfers to specific bank accounts to assist with investigations.
After following the instructions, victims would realise they had fallen for the scam when they fail to receive refunds, or when the supposed MAS staff become uncontactable.
Officers from the Anti-Scam Command eventually identified the man through on-the-ground enquiries and follow-up investigations.
He was arrested on Wednesday (20 Aug).
The police recovered and seized cash amounting to S$25,000 from the suspect.
Preliminary investigations reveal that the suspect was allegedly tasked by an unknown person to collect cash from other victims of GOIS before bringing the money to the unknown person.
The suspect is believed to be involved in more such cases.
Source: Singapore Police Force
The suspect was to be charged on Friday (22 Aug) with the offence of abetment by conspiracy to assist another retain benefits from criminal conduct.
If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine not exceeding S$500,000, or both.
Also read: S’porean grandma tricked into giving S$30K to fake MAS officer, helps police nab scammer
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Featured image adapted from SPF and Google Maps.