These case studies have been modified so as not to identify any actual cases at FIDReC. They are provided for purposes of learning and are not necessarily indicative of outcomes at FIDReC.
Madam Lim was a 70-year-old retiree staying on her own. She received an unsolicited call from a scammer purporting to be a Beijing Police Officer. The scammer claimed that Madam Lim’s credit card was used fraudulently in China. If Madam Lim did not cooperate with them, she may be arrested for suspected fraud.
Madam Lim was immediately fearful and asked what she needed to do to prove her innocence. The scammer told her that he would transfer her call to the Singapore Police Force to guide her. The scammer also warned Madam Lim that she must not tell anyone about the conversation as her life would be in danger if the fraudsters in the scam ring found out.
Later, another scammer impersonating a Singapore police officer informed Madam Lim that he had worked with one of her banks to set up a “safety account”. He instructed Madam Lim to transfer all her monies into the “safety account”. The scammer even sent her a letter that appeared to be on the bank’s letterhead with the account number and her name as the account holder.
Madam Lim then transferred $200,000 from Bank A over several transactions into the “safety account”, thinking that she owned the account. One week later, Madam Lim could not contact the scammers and confided in her daughter. Her daughter told her she might have been scammed. The daughter had come across several recent articles that reported similar cases in the newspapers.
Madam Lim appealed to Bank A for financial help but was not successful. She then came to FIDReC.
During mediation, Madam Lim admitted that she effected all the transfers, but only because she thought the monies were going into an account owned by her. She also shared that she was a law-abiding citizen who acted under pressure by the scammers.
Bank A explained that Madam Lim had authorised the transfers voluntarily and there was no lapse in its processes. SMS notifications were sent to Madam Lim to alert her, and she did not act on them. Nevertheless, Bank A considered Madam Lim’s circumstances and made a 10% goodwill offer. Madam Lim accepted the offer.
Key Learning Points
- We can all ACT against scams:
- ADD – add the ScamShield app and security features, including anti-virus apps and multi-factor authentication.
- CHECK – look out for scam signs before making decisions. Check with official sources like the ScamShield Helpline (1799).
- TELL – tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. If you have been scammed, make a police report.
- Police will never ask you to transfer money to any bank account for investigation purposes. They will never request your personal details, banking information or SingPass details over the phone or social messaging platforms.
- Do not allow anyone to access your bank account(s) or Singpass. Do not authorise any authentication requests by digital token or One Time Password (OTP) if you did not make the transaction.
- Read notifications from the bank carefully and contact the bank immediately if you are in doubt.
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