2 Malaysian men to be charged with alleged involvement in Government official impersonation scam两名马来西亚男子将因涉嫌参与冒充政府官员诈骗案而被起诉
Two Malaysian men, aged 25 and 26, will be charged on Wednesday (Oct 21) for their alleged involvement in a Government official impersonation scam that resulted in a woman losing $3,500 in cash, about $20,000 in foreign currency and jewellery.In a statement on Tuesday (Oct 20), the police said the 40-year-old victim received a call on Oct 13 from an...
Two Malaysian men, aged 25 and 26, will be charged on Wednesday (Oct 21) for their alleged involvement in a Government official impersonation scam that resulted in a woman losing $3,500 in cash, about $20,000 in foreign currency and jewellery.
In a statement on Tuesday (Oct 20), the police said the 40-year-old victim received a call on Oct 13 from an individual claiming to represent electronics retailer Harvey Norman regarding a delivery.
When she said she had not made any purchases, the caller told her that her identity might have been misused and that a police report would be filed on her behalf.
The following day, another person claiming to represent Harvey Norman contacted her and guided her through the cancellation of the purported orders.
She was then instructed to contact someone claiming to be a staff member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) via WhatsApp.
The purported MAS staff member told the woman to share her screen and log into her bank accounts under the pretext of checking them.
She was also instructed to disclose her internet banking credentials and one-time passwords, approve transactions made through her accounts, and photograph her jewellery and cash before handing them over for further checks.
The woman subsequently met an unknown man outside her residence and handed him $3,500 in cash, about $20,000 in foreign currency and jewellery.
She realised she had been scammed when she visited MAS and was told that none of the people she had been communicating was an MAS staff member.
Through follow-up investigations, police officers identified the man who met the victim and arrested him on Oct 19, along with a male accomplice.
The accomplice was found in possession of 17 pieces of gold jewellery believed to be scam proceeds.
A follow-up raid at a budget hotel led to the recovery of cash amounting to $55,000 and 24 pieces of gold jewellery, which were also believed to be scam proceeds.
Preliminary investigations found that the two men had allegedly been tasked by unknown individuals believed to be members of a transnational scam syndicate to collect cash and valuables from victims and pass them to other individuals.
The two men will be charged with abetment by conspiracy to assist another person to retain benefits from criminal conduct.
If convicted, they face up to 10 years' imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.
Rising trend of Malaysians assisting scam syndicates
The police said they have observed an increasing trend of Malaysian nationals travelling to Singapore to help scam syndicates collect cash, gold and other valuables from victims.
The police reminded members of the public not to transfer cash, jewellery or other valuables to unknown persons, leave valuables out for collection, or share their device screens and banking credentials with others.
"Singapore Government officials will never ask you to transfer money over the phone, request your banking login details, instruct you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores, or transfer your call to the police," said the police.
Anyone with information about such crimes can call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.
xingying.koh@asiaone.com
两名年龄分别为 25 岁和 26 岁的马来西亚男子将于周三（10 月 21 日）被控参与冒充政府官员的诈骗活动，该活动导致一名女子损失了 3500 美元现金、约 2 万美元外币和珠宝。
警方在周二（10 月 20 日）的一份声明中表示，这名 40 岁的受害者在 10 月 13 日接到一个自称是电子产品零售商 Harvey Norman 代表的人打来的电话，询问有关送货事宜。
当她说自己没有进行任何购物时，来电者告诉她，她的身份可能被盗用了，并且会代表她向警方报案。
第二天，另一名自称代表 Harvey Norman 的人联系了她，并指导她取消了所谓的订单。
然后她被指示通过 WhatsApp 联系一个自称是新加坡金融管理局 (MAS) 工作人员的人。
据称是新加坡金融管理局（MAS）工作人员的这名女子以查看银行账户为由，要求她共享屏幕并登录银行账户。
她还被要求披露其网上银行凭证和一次性密码，批准通过其账户进行的交易，并在交出珠宝和现金以供进一步检查之前拍照。
随后，该女子在住所外与一名陌生男子见面，并向他支付了 3500 美元现金、约 20000 美元外币和珠宝。
当她前往新加坡金融管理局 (MAS) 咨询时，才意识到自己被骗了，因为工作人员告诉她，之前与她联系的那些人都不是新加坡金融管理局的员工。
通过后续调查，警方确认了与受害者见面的男子身份，并于 10 月 19 日将其逮捕，同时被捕的还有一名男性同伙。
警方在同伙身上搜出 17 件黄金首饰，据信是诈骗所得。
随后对一家廉价酒店的突击搜查，查获了 55,000 美元现金和 24 件黄金首饰，这些也被认为是诈骗所得。
初步调查发现，这两名男子据称受不明身份人士的指使，这些人士被认为是跨国诈骗集团的成员，他们负责从受害者那里收取现金和贵重物品，然后将其转交给其他人。
这两名男子将被指控串谋教唆他人从犯罪行为中获利。
如果罪名成立，他们将面临最高 10 年监禁、最高 50 万美元罚款，或两者并罚。
马来西亚人协助诈骗团伙的趋势日益上升
警方表示，他们注意到越来越多的马来西亚公民前往新加坡，帮助诈骗团伙从受害者那里骗取现金、黄金和其他贵重物品。
警方提醒公众不要将现金、珠宝或其他贵重物品交给陌生人，不要将贵重物品留在外面让人收取，也不要与他人分享自己的设备屏幕和银行凭证。
警方表示：“新加坡政府官员绝不会要求您通过电话转账、索取您的银行登录信息、指示您从非官方应用商店安装手机应用程序，或将您的电话转接给警方。”
任何知悉此类犯罪信息的人都可以拨打警方热线 1800-255-0000 或访问 www.police.gov.sg/i-witness 在线提交信息。
邢英.koh@asiaone.com