Fake MAS officer told woman she was linked to a criminal case, convinced her to hand over $20k in jewellery

A 29-year-old Vietnamese man will be charged in court on Friday (Sept 4) for his alleged involvement in a government official impersonation scam.

Police said in a news release on Thursday night that they received a report from a female victim on Aug 28.

According to the victim, she was contacted by an unknown person claiming to an "officer" from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

This, after she received an earlier unsolicited call from a person claiming to be from YouTrip.

In that call, the victim was provided with a purported insurance policy bearing her name and NRIC number. Believing the claim to be true, the victim requested to cancel it.

The "MAS officer" then falsely informed her that her personal particulars had been misused and that she was implicated in a criminal case.

Jewellery for 'forensic examination'

She was then instructed to surrender an assortment of jewellery for "forensic examination".

Again, believing this to be true, the woman handed over jewellery worth about $20,000 to the Vietnamese man.

The 29-year-old was identified by officers from the police's Cyber Command and was arrested with the assistance of Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers on Wednesday.

Police said their preliminary investigations revealed that the man was allegedly tasked by unknown persons, believed to be members of a transnational scam syndicate, to collect cash and valuables from scam victims before handing them over to other unknown persons.

He will be charged with the offence of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct.

If found guilty of the said offence, the Vietnamese man could be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.

Members of the public are reminded that government officials will never ask any person to transfer money or valuables over the phone, disclose banking log-in details.

They will also not instruct anyone to install mobile applications from unauthorised app stores, or transfer calls to the police, or any other government officials.

一名29岁的越南男子将于周五（9月4日）在法庭上被控涉嫌参与冒充政府官员的诈骗活动。

警方周四晚间在一份新闻稿中表示，他们于 8 月 28 日接到一名女性受害者的报案。

据受害者称，一名自称是新加坡金融管理局（MAS）“官员”的陌生人联系了她。

此前，她曾接到一个自称是 YouTrip 工作人员的陌生来电。

在通话中，对方向受害者提供了一份据称是保单，上面印有她的姓名和身份证号码。受害者信以为真，于是要求取消保单。

随后，这位“MAS官员”谎称她的个人信息被滥用，并且她卷入了一起刑事案件。

用于“法医检验”的珠宝

随后，她被要求交出各种珠宝以供“法医检验”。

再次，这名女子相信了这件事，并将价值约 2 万美元的珠宝交给了这位越南男子。

这名 29 岁的男子被警方网络指挥部的警员确认身份，并在移民和关卡局官员的协助下于周三被捕。

警方表示，初步调查显示，该男子据称受不明身份人士（据信是跨国诈骗集团成员）指使，从诈骗受害者处收取现金和贵重物品，然后再将其交给其他不明身份人士。

他将被指控犯有协助他人从犯罪行为中获利的罪行。

如果被判犯有上述罪行，这名越南男子可能被判处最高 10 年监禁，并处以最高 50 万美元的罚款，或两者并罚。

提醒公众，政府官员绝不会要求任何人通过电话转移金钱或贵重物品，也不会透露银行登录信息。

他们也不会指示任何人从未经授权的应用商店安装移动应用程序，或将电话转接给警察或其他政府官员。