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60YO S’pore Lady Who Scammed People With Really Attractive Exchange Rates Jailed

2019-08-15 , 8:00 am

There’s a good rule of thumb to follow in life: if something’s too good to be true, it usually is.

True, while this might mean you will miss out on some good stuff, it also means you’ll miss out on the bad as well.

So if a lady ever came up to you offering really good exchange rates? Say no.

60-Year-Old Lady Goes Around Scamming People

According to Todayonline, Cheong Bee Jung, 60, has been going around offering really attractive currency exchange rates to people.

For example, if the currency exchange is RM 3 to S$1, she’ll claim that she can offer RM 4.20 for S$1.

Yup, I’ll totally do that too. That’s like an extra RM 120, or S$40 per $100 changed.

Specialises In Chinese Yuan, USD And Malaysia Ringgit

The usual rate for Chinese yuan was S$1 to 5 yuan. She offered 8 yuan.

For USD, the usual rate was S$1 to US$0.70. She offered S$1 to US$1.20.

One victim, who was introduced to her by his girlfriend, took out S$50,000 to enjoy her exchange rates.

He gave $3,000 to his girlfriend as commission and $47,000 to Cheong to exchange to Chinese Yuan.

She disappeared after passing him 100,000 yuan, worth about S$12,500 based on the rates she offered.

Another man had looked at the exchange rate as an investment and pumped about $30,750 to exchange into Chinese yuan. The rate, then, was S$1 to 6.5 yuan.

Thereafter, she managed to convince him to part with another S$44,000 for an exclusive rate of S$1 to US$1.20.

Till date, he only got back $4,500.

Event Space Rental Scams

Other than exchange rates scams, this enterprising lady also went around offering non-existent event lots for roadshows at places like Nex Shopping Mall in Serangoon.

She had even stolen cheque books and forged signatures on the cheques, which she then issued to her victims as “repayment of sums” owed to them.

Lied To The Police

In April 2014, she told the police that she handed the money from her victims to Mr Chan Sek Heng, a newspaper seller in Malaysia.

Then, he ghosted her, she claimed.

So Mr Chan, who was just selling newspapers in Pahang, Malaysia, was caught and extradited to Singapore on Dec 2018.

He was detained for close to two weeks and released after Cheong confessed that she had given a false statement.

She had also misappropriated “tens of thousands of dollars” from Da Cai Pte Ltd when she was working as a full-time administrative executive and personal assistant to collect and sort the company’s mail.

Earned Almost $700,000

With her many schemes throughout the years from 2010 to 2017, Cheong had managed to make scamming into a lucrative business.

How lucrative?

Lucrative enough to earn her almost $700,000 over the span of seven years, from 2010 to 2017.

Yup, that’s like a take-home pay of $8,333 per month.

Her Crimes Caught Up With Her

On 14 Aug 2019, she was sentenced to five years and 10 months in jail.

She had pleaded guilty to 29 charges which include cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, theft and providing false information to a public servant.

Previously convicted in 1999 and 2007 for cheating, her lawyer said that she was driven to commit again due to her debt with illegal moneylenders going out of control.

Scams Can Seem Real At The First Glance

It could be a friend who recommends you to the scammer. It could be the rates that make it impossible to say no to.

The problem with scams nowadays is that scammers are getting smarter.

They’re no longer in this for a short one-time transaction.

Like Cheong who gives back a small amount to lure victims into pumping in more money, scammers are likely to give you a sweet deal on the first transaction.

Mainly because people don’t put in that much money for the first time. Try-try mah, just to be safe.

They’ll only disappear after you decided to do a leap of faith. By then, you could’ve introduced five best friends to him or her because good things must share.

So, remember, if something’s too good to be true, it usually is.