A 22-year-old Malaysian man will be charged in court on Oct 17 for his suspected involvement in three cases of Government Official Impersonation Scams (GOIS).
The police said they received three reports on Oct 11 and Oct 14 of scammers impersonating officers from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
In these cases, victims were allegedly told that they were implicated in money-laundering investigations and were instructed to withdraw cash and hand over valuables for investigation purposes.
The victims handed over gold jewellery and more than $32,000 in cash to an unknown man.
Following extensive investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command identified the suspect and arrested him on Oct 16 when he re-entered Singapore.
Preliminary findings revealed that he had allegedly been tasked by unknown individuals to collect money and valuables from scam victims before handing them over to these unknown people.
Police recovered and seized cash and jewellery worth more than $5,500 from the man.
He will be charged with assisting another person to retain benefits from criminal conduct under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.
The police said they take a serious stance against anyone involved in scams, and reminded the public not to transfer money or hand valuables to unknown persons.
They also advised that government officials will never:
- Ask you to transfer money
- Ask for bank log-in details
- Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores
- Transfer your call to the police
Anyone with information about such crimes can call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit details online via www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
For more information on scams, visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.
