SINGAPORE - When Mr Chi Xiao Biao, a counter staff member at Hanshan Money Express Remittance, encountered an anxious customer attempting to transfer cash urgently to an overseas bank account via the company's express service, he knew something was amiss.
Because of his vigilance, he managed to save a woman in her mid 40s from being scammed of $15,000.
Investigations subsequently revealed that the woman had been tricked into believing that she was paying was a mandatory processing fee in order to claim a $600,000 lucky draw prize.
"The customer seemed nervous and insisted on our express service to get the $15,000 remitted as fast as possible. I realised she was actually being coached by a scammer over an active WeChat voice call on what exactly to say to staff at the remittance company to get us to transfer large sums without asking too many questions," said Mr Chi.
He confronted the scammer over the phone, who hung up after a brief argument.
Mr Chi, 52, was one of the 108 individuals and 15 organisations lauded by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) for their contribution to detecting and preventing scams.
These awards also recognise the closer cooperation between commercial entities and the authorities to combat scams.
In 2019, the recipients of the CAD's Community Partnership Awards - which include banks, remittance agencies, and commercial enterprises - intervened in 91 scam incidents involving more than $5 million worth of potential losses.
This is compared with more than $1 million in 87 scam cases intercepted in 2018.
The police attributes this increase in monies recovered to the swift intervention of these organisations and their close collaboration with the CAD to develop and implement anti-scam measures.
Mr David Chew, director of CAD, said: "The Covid-19 situation has brought about a new normal - digitalisation of the public space. Scams have become more prevalent and the Community Partnership Award is a testament that the partnership between the Police and our community is important in combating this scam trend."
More complex methods are also being employed by criminals to hoodwink their victims.
This was exactly what happened in a case thwarted by staff at OCBC Bank, where scammers pretended to be tech support staff and government agents.
The bank flagged a $190,000 transfer by a man in his 60s to a bank account in Hong Kong.
When staff contacted him, his evasiveness and insistence that the money was going to "his cousin in Hong Kong" raised red flags. The bank managed to recall the transaction within hours, and the victim did not lose any money.
It later came to light that the man was deeply convinced by scammers posing as SingTel tech support staff that he had been roped into a secret mission by the "Cyber Security Crime Department". No such department or agency exists.
He had also been instructed by scammers to transfer the large sum of money immediately, to be used as "bait" for criminals.
"Once money leaves the customer's account, particularly in the case of instantaneous bank transfers, it is usually an uphill battle to recall the transaction," said Mr Royston Soon, vice-president of fraud risk management at OCBC.
"We urge customers to stay vigilant, and not to share personal details like one-time pins," he added.
