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Elderly man nearly loses S$3.7 million to scammers; was targeted thrice in under two months
SINGAPORE: An 82-year-old man who was targeted by scammers three times in less than two months averted a loss of S$3.7 million (US$2.76 million) following the intervention of the authorities and banks.
The cases took place over February and March, with the Anti-Scam Centre working with CIMB Bank and Hong Leong Finance to foil the attempts.
A 20-year-old involved in all three scam cases targeting the elderly man was arrested, said the police in a news release on Tuesday (Mar 19).
On Feb 6, CIMB’s fraud management team detected transactions amounting to S$2.1 million being made from the victim’s bank account.
This prompted the Anti-Scam Centre and CIMB officers to jointly engage the elderly victim at his home. While CIMB’s fraud management team suspended the victim’s bank account to prevent further losses, the Anti-Scam Centre sought the victim's son’s assistance to provide family support to the elderly man.
"A sum of S$1.3 million was recovered with the remaining sum being dissipated overseas prior to the police report," police said.
The next day, the Anti-Scam Centre was alerted by the elderly man's son that three cheques amounting to S$1.2 million were issued by Hong Leong Finance under the victim’s instruction to three individuals.
The Anti-Scam Centre instructed Hong Leong Finance to hold the cheques, pending further verifications.
Related:
Police advice on scams and unsolicited calls
Ignore unsolicited calls with the "+" prefix phone numbers that originate from overseas and the caller’s instructions.
For foreigners receiving calls from people claiming to be police in their home country, they should call their embassy or high commission to verify the claims;
Refrain from giving out personal information and bank details and do not make any fund transfers if the caller is of dubious identity;
If an overseas law enforcement officer is ordering you to do things in Singapore, hang up the call and check with the Singapore police;
Add the ScamShield App and set security features like the two-factor (2FA) or multifactor authentication for banks;
Check for scam signs with official sources, such as the scam alert website, or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688
Tell authorities, family, and friends about scams.
Expand
THIRD ATTEMPT
On Mar 9, the scammers struck again. This time, police were alerted by CIMB’s branch operation team after the victim was accompanied by an unknown man at its branch to purchase a cashier’s order of S$1.2 million.
With the information, the Anti-Scam Centre and Central Police Division officers headed to the bank to engage the victim.
"A 20-year-old man was subsequently arrested for his suspected involvement in a government officials impersonation scam case," said the police.
Two mobile phones and some documents used to commit the offence were seized from the man.
"Preliminary investigations revealed that the man, who had acted under the instructions of fake China police, had impersonated as a Chinese police officer and accompanied the elderly victim to the CIMB Bank.
"He had demanded the victim to purchase a cashier’s order amounting to S$1.2 million," the police said.
The man is believed to be involved in another three government officials impersonation scam cases in February and March.
Investigations against the suspect are still ongoing.
"The police take a serious view against any person who may be involved in scams, whether knowingly or unwittingly.
"Anyone found to be involved in such scams will be subjected to police investigations," said police.
The offence of cheating by personation carries a jail term of up to five years, a fine or both. The offence of cheating carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.
Source: CNA/fh(gr)
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Elderly man nearly loses S$3.7 million to scammers
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19-Mar 2024 Tuesday
6:56 PM (40 days ago)
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