Moneychanger and remittance firm foil $25,000 phone scam attempt

A moneychanger and a remittance company were commended by police for foiling an attempt by scammers to dupe a woman of $25,000.

According to a media release, police were alerted by Mr Malik Sameer, a staff from Samlit Moneychanger, to a suspected case of cheating on July 7 at 3.05pm.

Investigations revealed that on July 2, the victim had received a phone call claiming that she had a parcel with 28 credit cards under her name at Changi Airport DHL.

The 59-year-old victim was directed to make withdrawals from the bank before proceeding to the moneychanger.

At the moneychanger, Mr Malik, who attended to the victim, suspected something was amiss and alerted the police upon the victim's departure.

The victim then went to Zhongguo Remittance to remit the money.

Staff member Ms Li Chunyan attended to the victim and suspected something was amiss. She told the victim to wait while she went into her office to alert the police. However, the victim had left after completing the remittance transaction.

Through investigations by officers from Central Division and Commercial Affairs Department, the identity of the victim was established and she was promptly contacted.

Due to the quick intervention, the money was fully recovered and returned to the victim.

The police advises members of the public to take precautions when they receive unsolicited calls, especially from unknown parties.

These include ignoring instructions to remit or transfer money, and giving out personal information or bank details.

Members of the public who have information related to such crime or those who are in doubt can call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or dial 999 for urgent police assistance.

candicec@sph.com.sg