SPF Arrest 55 Suspects For Scams Reported in Bedok, Tampines & Pasir Ris Areas, Gives ‘Common-Sense’ Advice

Scams are as common as rude uncles and aunties in Singapore today. And we know how many rude uncles and aunties are in Singapore today, right?

I mean, there’s a reason why Singaporeans are giving up their seats today, but not because of kindness.

And the Singapore Police Force (SPF) is running around trying to catch the scammers or prevent them from happening in the first place.

And on 5 Aug, they had a breakthrough

Police officers from Bedok Police Division arrested 55 suspects after a five-day operation against a wide variety of scams.

And the transactions allegedly worth more than $1.8 million.

30 men and 25 women between 18 and 71 years old are assisting the police in their investigations.

They’re believed to be involved in more than 77 scams and commercial-related cases, such as e-commerce scams, loan scams and commercial frauds.

These were all reported in Pasir Ris, Tampines and Bedok estates.

The suspects are being investigated for:

• Cheating: if found guilty, you can be jailed up to 10 years, or fined
• Money Laundering: if found guilty, you can be jailed up to 10 years and/or a fine of up to S$500,000

Some Precautions That’ll Guard Against Scams

1. If it’s too good to be true…

The scary part about scams is that they seemed invincible. No matter what you do, if you’re unlucky, you’ll get scammed out of your money, sometimes even more than that.

But here’s the undeniable truth: Scams are not unbeatable. They just seem that way because people are greedy.

And that’s why we fall into traps. Don’t believe us? Think about it.

Person A found PS4 on Carousel selling at $250.

Some will think, it’s too cheap, confirm got problem one. But another person might just see it as a steal and decide to purchase it, only to get a box of apples in return.

And don’t laugh, this really did happen.

In other words, if something is too good to be true, it usually is.

That’s just our own gem of wisdom you might want to remember, but here are a couple more provided by the SPF, ergo the scam experts.

2. Do Not Share Your Personal Information

Your personal information includes your ID number, bank account details, One-Time Passwords or SMS-verification codes.

And you should never give them to anybody. Ever.

Why? Because with these details, scammers can deal a lot of damage to you.

If a nurse from the hospital gives you a call and ask for your personal identification, never ever give them to her. Or anyone, for that matter.

For example, if a nurse from Ng Teng Fong Hospital calls and ask for your information, hang up on her and call the Ng Teng Fong Hospital hotline to verify.

Remember, every official organisation has this disclaimer: they do not ask for personal information over the phone.

3. Everybody’s a Stranger

Online shopping is pretty much a way of life now in Singapore. So dealing with strangers online isn’t anything new.

But sometimes, we just forget that the person we’re dealing with is a stranger, and let our guard down.

Check what kind of safeguards the platform has in place before committing to your actions.

4. What if he shows his NRIC? 

If a scammer readily shows his NRIC without you asking for it, alarm bells should start ringing in your mind.

Why?

Because the NRIC might’ve been stolen or lost by the original owner.

Like this one.

He showed a picture of the NRIC to “show his sincerity”, and when the person really ran away, the victims realised, too late, that the NRIC wasn’t the scammer’s.

5. Never, ever, pay in advance

The Chinese have a saying: 一手交钱一手交货. It basically means I’ll pass you the money as you pass me my stuff.

Or in ghetto slang, show me the goods first.

No matter how good a deal is, you should just give it a pass if the seller insists on a substantial upfront payment.

Either that or ensure that you’re dealing with authorised dealers and the platform keeps the money from the seller (be it downpayment or otherwise) until you’ve confirmed you received the goods.