Alone and afraid of being sent to jail, an elderly man fell victim to a government official impersonation scam and almost lost $17,000 of his savings.
But he got the money back with the police’s help and also MP and Home Affairs Minister K Shangmugam.
The 70-year-old man, surnamed Goh, received a call on Dec 8 last year from someone claiming to be a Harvey Norman employee who told him that he was accused of money laundering.
Speaking to AsiaOne, Goh recalled that the “employee” asked him to make payment for an 80-inch television he had ordered.
After insisting that he never made such a purchase, the employee told him that he was likely involved in money laundering activities, and that he would be referred to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Goh subsequently received calls from two people who claimed to be MAS officials.
He said that the scammers sounded like locals and seemed professional while speaking to him, which made him more inclined to believe them.
The scammers informed him that they would need access to his bank account for investigations.
Goh gave access to his account, afraid that he would be fined or sent to jail if convicted of money laundering.
The phone call lasted around two to three hours, with $17,000 transferred to a UOB bank account, explained by the scammers as “protection money” that would be saved in that account.
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