Police, MariBank foil fraudsters' attempt to scam woman of $149,000
SINGAPORE - A 55-year-old woman almost lost $149,000 through a ruse, after she received a call in May claiming that her credit card was misused.
The caller, who posed as a bank officer, claimed that the card had been used for unauthorised purchases in China, the police said in a news release on June 10.
When the woman denied making any such transactions, she was transferred to another scammer impersonating a police officer, they said.
The fake officer claimed she was a suspect in a money laundering investigation and threatened her with a 60-day detention if she failed to cooperate.
Complying with the scammers' instructions, the woman transferred more than $49,000 to a MariBank account they provided details of on May 24.
MariBank is a digital bank owned by shopping platform Shopee's parent company, Sea.
The woman was falsely assured that the transfer would not affect her account balance, the police said.
However, MariBank flagged the transaction as suspicious and promptly alerted the police's Anti-Scam Centre (ASC).
ASC officers then convinced the victim that she had been scammed.
The transferred funds were later recovered and the potential loss of another $100,000 was prevented, the police added.
For more information on scams, visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield hotline on 1799.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction
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