M'sian woman, 73, allegedly helped scammers collect S$200,000 in cash & gold bars from S'pore victims

A Malaysian woman, 73, was arrested for allegedly collecting cash and gold bars from scam victims in Singapore.

She allegedly did so on at least three occasions, according to a Nov. 30 Singapore Police Force (SPF) news release.

The victims were scammed after people posed as officials from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and told them their bank accounts had been linked to money laundering activities.

They were instructed to hand over their money and valuables for investigation.

The victims complied and met unknown individuals at various locations around Singapore.

The elderly woman was allegedly one of these individuals.

S$200,000 worth of items seized

On Nov. 24, an employee at BullionStar, a gold and silver dealer at New Bridge Road, called the police to report a woman loitering suspiciously outside the shop.

The woman was arrested on the same day.

The police seized S$200 in cash and gold bars worth approximately S$200,000 from the woman, who is believed to be a scam mule.

She had allegedly helped a scam syndicate by collecting cash and gold bars from victims around Singapore.

She would then hand them over to unknown persons, believed to be members of the syndicate.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Anti-scam tips

SPF reminded members of the public to never transfer or hand over their monies and valuables to unknown people.

They should also never share the screens of their devices with any unknown person.

Singapore government officials will never do any the following:

• Ask you to transfer money
• Ask you to disclose banking login details
• Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores
• Ask you to hand over pre-signed cheques to anyone
• Transfer your call to the police

If in doubt, call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.

You can also visit the ScamShield website or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 for more information on scams.

Top image from SPF and Canva