Malaysian woman, 73, arrested for suspected role in scheme where scammers posed as Singapore officials

The victims were instructed to surrender their money and valuables for investigations. They met unknown individuals at various places across Singapore to hand over cash and gold bars.

When they did not receive refunds promised to them or when the scammers became uncontactable, the victims realised that they had been scammed.

The Malaysian woman had allegedly been facilitating the operations of a scam syndicate by collecting cash and gold bars from victims of the scam across Singapore, according to preliminary investigations.

Investigations into the woman’s actions are ongoing, said the police.

People need to remain vigilant and not transfer or hand over money and valuables to unknown people whose identities have not been verified, or leave these somewhere to be collected, the police said.

Government officials, the police added, will not ask people to transfer money, disclose banking details or install mobile apps from unofficial app stores over the phone.

If in doubt, the public can call the ScamShield helpline on 1799 to check.

Those with information on scams can call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000, or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness

All information will be kept confidential, the police said. – The Straits Times/ANN