SINGAPORE – First, they tell victims that they have a parcel containing prohibted items under their name. Then, they claim to be police officers, asking the victim for their bank details and to wire money to an overseas account.
But while some unsuspecting victims are still falling prey to these tactics, remittance companies have quickly wised up to scammers’ nefarious tricks.
On Wednesday (Aug 11), the timely intervention of two staff members from Zhongguo Remittance Pte Ltd prevented a 22-year-old man from being cheated of $8,500, the police said in a statement.
It is the third time that the company has foiled parcel scam attempts in recent months.
The victim had received a phone call earlier that day about a parcel containing illegal items in Shanghai. He was subsequently given instructions to transfer money to the scammers.
When he went to his regular remittance company to wire over the cash, staff member Ms Li Chun Li suspected something was amiss and informed her supervisor, Ms Wang Meiqin, who immediately notified the police.
Officers from the Central Division and Commercial Affairs Department quickly established that the victim had been scammed. The victim managed to fully recover his $8,500.
This is not the first time that remittance companies have prevented victims from falling prey to such scams:
– Earlier in August, Zhongguo Remittance also foiled a similar scam and prevented a 25-year-old from losing $1,000.
– The same company was involved in foiling another attempt to dupe a woman of $25,000 in July.
– Another company, Hanshan Money Express Remittance, also prevented an elderly woman who was threatened with imprisonment from losing $180,000.
www.scamalert.sg
There have been more reports of parcel phone scams in Singapore in recent months, according to the police’s Financial Crime Policy and Operations Branch.
A total of about $4 million has reportedly been scammed from at least 50 victims since March, with $2.3 million being the largest amount lost in a single incident.
The police urged the public to take precautions when receiving calls from unknown parties.
They advised members of the public to ignore such calls, ignore instructions to remit or transfer money, refrain from giving out personal information, and to talk to a trusted friend or relative before taking any action.
Those with information related to such crimes can call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or dial 999 for urgent assistance.
Read also: 11 scams that are happening in Singapore now
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