Police foil scammers who cheated people into transferring money using Bitcoin machines
Farah Daley
Posted on 29 April 2019 | 4,287 views | 5 comments
The police are advising members of the public to beware of China Officials Impersonation Scams where victims have been cheated by scammers to transfer money using bitcoin machines.
The police released a fresh alert on such scams after posters beside a bitcoin machine were torn down at Tampines One mall on Apr 18.
The police were alerted to a case of vandalism at the mall and officers from Bedok Police Division investigated the matter.
They found that a 45-year-old man had allegedly removed the posters from the wall beside the bitcoin machine.
The man revealed that he had received a call from someone purporting to be a foreign law enforcement officer.
The 'officer' claimed the man was under investigation for a transnational crime.
He also told the man to transfer a total of $1,000 on two occasions to an account using the bitcoin machine at Tampines One and directed to remove and dispose of the scam alert posters next to the machine.
Police investigations are ongoing.
While the police were carrying out ground inquiries at Tampines One, officers managed to prevent a 32-year-old man from falling for the scam.
They also stopped a 49-year-old man from making further transfers to the scammers.
"The men were told that their bank accounts were used in ongoing investigations relating to the trafficking of human organs n China, and were instructed to transfer money using the Bitcoin machine for verification purposes," the police said.
While the officers managed to prevent the 32-year-old man from transferring any money, the 49-year-old ma was in the midst of doing it when the officers stopped him.
He told the police he had already transferred $16,350.
The police advise members of the public to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls to surrender money to avoid criminal investigations:
- Ignore such calls and caller's instructions.
- Refrain from giving out personal information and bank details, whether on a website or to callers over the phone.
- Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. Do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively.
- Call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 or visit www.scamalert.sg for scam related advice.
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