SINGAPORE – A 38-year-old Malaysian man is slated to be charged on March 7 for his suspected role in a government official impersonation scam, the police said on March 6.
He is the second Malaysian arrested in Singapore within two days for allegedly helping scam syndicates collect cash and valuables from victims.
The police said they received a report on March 4 from a victim who had received a call from an unknown person claiming to be from HSBC. The caller told her there were unauthorised transactions made on her credit card.
When the woman denied having an HSBC credit card, the call was transferred to someone claiming to be an officer from the Commercial Affairs Department, who told her she was suspected of being involved in a money laundering case.
She was asked to assist with “investigations” to prove her innocence, which included withdrawing $15,000 that had been deposited into her bank account and buying gold from pawnshop chain Maxi-Cash.
The victim then purchased more than $130,000 worth of gold, which she was instructed to leave on the passenger seat of her unlocked car at a carpark near Upper Boon Keng Road.
She was told to leave the area while the gold was used to “lure the scammer”. About 10 minutes later, the caller informed the victim that the “scammer” had been arrested and that the gold had been moved to the boot of her car.
