Singapore seizes over $150K in gold bars from Malaysian scam suspect

She was arrested last Monday after a staff member at gold and silver dealer BullionStar reported her for loitering suspiciously outside their New Bridge Road shop, police announced on Sunday, as reported by The Straits Times.

Preliminary investigations indicated she had allegedly been collecting cash and gold from victims of scams across the city-state, said the police, who also seized S$200 in cash from her. Investigations into the suspect are ongoing, according to Motherhsip.

An employee shows a gold bullion bar at Degussa shop in Singapore, June 16, 2017. photo by Reuters

Police noted that between Oct. 8 and Nov. 24, they received several reports of scammers posing as Monetary Authority of Singapore officials, who informed victims that their personal information had been compromised or that their bank accounts were involved in money laundering.

Victims were directed to surrender cash and valuables to unknown individuals for investigation purposes. These items were subsequently passed on to members of the alleged scam syndicate.

"The victims later realized they had been scammed when they failed to receive the promised refunds, or when the purported officials became uncontactable," police noted.

Police had earlier noted a rising trend of Malaysians coming to Singapore to help scam syndicates collect cash, gold and other valuables from victims, Channel News Asia reported.

They advised the public not to hand over money and valuables to strangers whose identities cannot be verified or leave them at collection points.

They also reminded residents that government officials will never request money transfers and bank login details, ask them to download unofficial apps over the phone or transfer calls to the police.