Swift Intervention By The Anti-Scam Centre And Standard Chartered Bank Led To Full Recovery Of $250,000 In A Government Official Impersonation Scam

On 6 June 2024, the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) and Standard Chartered successfully recovered losses of $250,000 in a government official impersonation scam case.

In this case, a 56-year-old man received a call from a scammer posing as a bank staff, informing him of a suspicious transaction on his credit card. The call was then forwarded to a "Police Officer" who claimed that the man was a victim of an identity fraud, and that the money in his bank accounts had been frozen.

To assist in the purported investigation, the man was then instructed to open a new Standard Chartered bank account online and to transfer a total of $250,000 from accounts held with other banks into the newly created account. The man was told that as the account was under investigation by the "Monetary Authority of Singapore", he would need to provide the new account's login details and password to assist with the investigations. The man complied with the request.

The man then told his family about the incident. Realising that he could have fallen prey to a scam, the man lodged a police report.

Officers from the Anti-Scam Centre were alerted to this case and the Standard Chartered's anti-fraud team immediately blocked online banking access and suspended the bank account, preventing any fund movement. Due to the swift response, the full sum of $250,000 was recovered.

The Police would like to emphasise that government officials, especially police officers, will never request members of the public over the phone or through text messages to (i) make bank transfers; (ii) provide personal banking, SingPass or CPF-related information; (iii) click on links that lead to bank websites; (iv) install third party applications or software on your computer or mobile phone. Government officials from other countries do not have legal powers to require members of the public in Singapore to perform such actions. The public are to call the Singapore police if an alleged Chinese police officer meets you in person in Singapore to pay money to him or to receive and sign documents for bail or investigation purposes.

Members of the public are encouraged to adopt the following crime prevention measures:

1. ADD - Add the ScamShield App to protect yourself from scam calls and SMSes. Set security features (eg. enable International Call Blocking options on mobile devices, enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Multifactor Authentication for online accounts, Money Lock your bank accounts to further secure a portion of your savings).
   
   
2. CHECK - Check for scam signs with official sources (e.g. ScamShield WhatsApp bot @ https://go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot, call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688, or visit www.scamalert.sg), or with someone you trust. Never disclose your personal information (including SingPass and CPF-related information), internet banking and social media account details, and One-Time Passwords (OTP) to anyone.
   
   
3. TELL - Tell the authorities, family, and friends about this scam encounter. Report and block any suspected scam accounts and chat groups. If you suspect that you have fallen victim to a scam, call your bank immediately to report and block any fraudulent transactions and make a police report.

If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial '999'.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!

Photo of ASC officer and SCB staff

Mr. Rajendaran S/O Rajoo, Manager, Fraud Risk Management, SC (left) performing analysis work with ASP Nur Farhanah, Senior Investigation Officer, Anti-Scam Centre, Singapore Police Force (right) ▼

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
14 June 2024 @ 9:05 PM