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SINGAPORE \u2013 At least $2.9 million has been lost in February so far to a scam variant in which victims were duped into handing over valuables such as gold bars, jewellery and luxury watches to imposters posing as government officials. <\/p>\n
In an advisory on Feb 20, the Singapore Police Force said at least 18 reports have been lodged so far this month involving government official impersonation scams with the physical collection of valuables.<\/p>\n
In these cases, victims received unsolicited calls from scammers claiming to be representatives of insurance or financial institutions, or retailers. <\/p>\n
The callers alleged that the victims had outstanding insurance premiums or had made bank card transactions.<\/p>\n
When the victims denied the claims, they were transferred to other scammers posing as officials from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) or the Ministry of Law.<\/p>\n
The victims were then accused of being involved in criminal activities such as money laundering and were sent fake documents, including purported \u201cwarrants of arrest\u201d or \u201cfinancial inspection orders\u201d. <\/p>\n
They were instructed to hand over valuables to unknown individuals for \u201cinvestigation purposes\u201d. In some cases, victims were told to purchase gold or other high-value items before surrendering them.<\/p>\n
They typically realised they had been scammed only when the callers became uncontactable or after checking with the authorities.<\/p>\n
The police warned: \u201cMembers of the public must never transfer or hand over monies, cryptocurrencies or other valuables to unknown persons or to anyone whose identity you have not verified.\u201d <\/p>\n
They added: \u201cNever leave monies or valuables at a physical location to facilitate subsequent collection.\u201d<\/p>\n
The police also cautioned that scammers may misuse publicly available information, such as the names and designations of actual officers, to appear credible. <\/p>\n
They stressed that Singapore government officials, including officers from MAS and the Ministry of Law, will never ask members of the public over the phone to transfer or hand over valuables, disclose banking login details, install mobile applications from unofficial app stores, or transfer calls to other government agencies.<\/p>\n
Those in doubt can call the 24\/7 ScamShield Helpline on 1799 to verify suspicious calls. <\/p>\n