Singapore Police advises public on variations of Phone Scams

Scammers are coming up with new and innovative phone scams to convince victims to part with their money. There are many variations to phone scams. The most common ones are the Lottery Scam, Kidnap Scam and Impersonation Scam.

Lottery Scams!
Tricksters may call from overseas, email or SMS the recipients, informing them that they have won prize money in a foreign lottery. The tricksters would request for an advance payment in order to process the claims for prizes.

Kidnap Scams!
Tricksters would claim that the recipient's loved one had been kidnapped and demand that a ransom be transferred to specific bank account. These fake threats are usually accompanied by sounds of cries for help in the background.

Impersonation Scams!
Tricksters would impersonate law enforcement officials, advising victims to remit or transfer money to designated bank accounts in order to exonerate themselves from alleged crimes. These common allegations include failure to appear in court in relation to one's involvement in money laundering and unlicensed money lending cases.

1. The tricksters will impersonate foreign government officials such as the Interpol, Taiwan Police, China Police, etc.
2. The tricksters will ask the victims for their personal information and bank account details for verification purposes. In some occasions, they were able to recite the victim's personal information or bank account number.
3. The tricksters will send pre-recorded voice messages to the victims. The victims will need to press a number before their calls are answered by an operator. To lend credibility to their scams, the number that appeared on the recipient's phone reflects those belonging to local authorities such as:
    
   a. Supreme Court Quality Service Manager/ Enquiry Hotline: 63381034,
   b. CID Hotline: 64350000, or
   c. Police Emergency Hotline: 999
    
   This is commonly known as "Caller ID Spoofing", where advances in technology enable callers to lie about their identity through false numbers.

CRIME PREVENTION MEASURES

Lottery Scam

• Ignore notifications of a win in a lottery or lucky draw when you had not purchased any lottery ticket or participated in any lucky draw.
• Do not make any advance payment to claim any prize money. Winning a lucky draw or lottery does not require you to make any advance payment.
• Do not entertain such SMSes and calls.
• Be wary of get-rich-quick offers. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it is probably a scam.

Kidnap Scam

• If the public receive kidnap scam calls, they should remain calm and try to contact their next-of-kin immediately. Should repeated attempts at contacting their loved-ones fail, they should then contact the police.
• In addition, the public could pose questions to the kidnapper to verify the identity of the purportedly kidnapped victim, for instance, the number of family members staying together or whether there are pets in the house, to help them establish if the call is indeed genuine.

Impersonation Scam

• Ignore any notification calls from unknown persons who claim to be government officials. All notices to attend court hearing would be notified by post or accompanied by an official letter.
• Police or court officials would not ask anyone who is in connection with a criminal case to make any transfer of funds to unknown bank accounts.
• Do not give your personal details such as NRIC and bank account numbers to anyone over telephone or e-mail.

Those who receive such calls may wish to pass on such information to the Police at a Neighbourhood Police Centre.

An interesting insight from Maria Ressa

An interesting insight from Maria Ressa, former Senior Vice-President, ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs Managing Director, ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) & abs-cbnnews.com. Before joining ABS-CBN, Ms. Ressa worked for Cable News Network (CNN) for nearly two decades, serving as Manila Bureau Chief from 1988-1995 and as Jakarta Bureau Chief from 1995-2005. As CNN’s lead investigative reporter in Asia, she specialized in investigating terrorist networks.

She recently moved  her base to Singapore and will be Author-in-Residence at the International Centre for Political Violence & Terrorism Research (PVTR).

Welcome to Singapore…

I sit on the bus and let my mind roam. Interesting. The city feels different.

I have been travelling in and out of Singapore for nearly two decades. I had a favorite room in my favorite hotel, a desk I always used in the airport lounge, a table at my favorite restaurant. I had habits – rituals that anchored me since news stories often pulled apart the fabric of my life.

People say Singapore is boring. For me, it was an oasis from the chaotic events of news. This was my transit stop in the early 90?s till I moved to Manila in 2005. In the last five years before I left CNN, I was in my Jakarta apartment a total of 90 days in a year. I was probably in my Singapore hotel room more days than that, but I was always caught in a flurry of activity.

Now that I’m moving here, Singapore feels different. I’m not parachuting in on a story with deadline pressures nor running around frantically contacting authorities to confirm stories here and around the region.

No longer rushing, I’m on a bus exploring a side of Singapore I was always too busy to see.

The facts I’d learned stayed with me – like authorities importing more than 600 varieties of palms as part of one of the world’s first environmental programs. Or the highway that could turn into an emergency runway for planes to evacuate its people – remnants of past conflicts.

A 600 sq km island-nation the size of Siquijor, Singapore planned its development so well that it grew upwards (and built skyscrapers) rather than kill the greenery. It brings in more than double its population in tourists annually with man-made attractions. Yet, it has trouble finding its own drinking water – it imports water from nearby Malaysia.

Now I feel the rhythm of life far from bustling central D10 or D11. I see details I’ve missed in the past, looking inside HDB apartments, visualizing one for me. (Did you know that more than 80% of Singaporeans live in public housing supplied by the government? Or that 8 in 10 Singaporeans OWN their own homes, the highest rate in the world? And that each building is mandated to have the exact proportions of ethnicity as the nation?)

I’m moving here in a few weeks, and it feels different. That’s my nugget for today.

Here’s the view from dinner – my welcome to a different Singapore marking another phase of my life.

Filipina Domestic Workers And Singaporean Employers Arrested For Operating Unlicensed Moneylending Business

Acting on information received, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department conducted an operation on 11 January 2011 and busted two separate groups believed to be involved in issuing unlicensed loans to foreign domestic workers. A total of five persons aged between 28 and 69 years old were arrested in the operation.

The first group involved three persons, namely a 69-year-old male Singaporean and two Filipina domestic workers aged 28 and 36 years respectively. This group is suspected to have issued loans to more than 200 other Filipina domestic workers since June 2010.

The second group involved a 47-year-old female Singaporean and a 29-year old Filipina domestic worker. They are believed to have issued loans to about 40 domestic workers since January 2009.

The three Filipina suspects and the female Singaporean will be charged in Court on 13 January 2011 for offences under the Moneylenders Act. Investigations against the remaining suspect are still ongoing.

Under the Moneylenders Act, persons found guilty of operating or assisting in the operating of a loansharking business may be fined not less than $30,000 and up to $300,000 with mandatory imprisonment of up to four years and shall be liable for caning of up to six strokes.

Source: PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

Beware: Robbers impersonating as Ministry of Manpower Officer

A passer-by aided the Police in the arrest of three suspects who impersonated public servants to steal from a foreign worker.

On 11 Jan 2011 at about 8pm, the victim, a 28-year-old foreign worker was sitting at the void deck of Blk 666A Jurong West St 65 when three unknown men approached him. One of the men flashed a card and identified himself as a MOM officer stating that he wanted to check the victim’s belongings. The victim handed over his belongings but decided to call for the Police as he sensed that something was amiss. However, the man took away his hand phone and walked away. The victim tried to request for the return of his handphone but was stopped by another man.

At this juncture, the victim approached a 22-year-old passer-by for help. Upon seeing the passer-by call the Police on his phone, the three suspects immediately fled from the scene. Together with the victim, the public-spirited passer-by gave chase and managed to detain one of the suspects after a short chase. Police arrived shortly thereafter and took over custody of the suspect.

Through follow-up investigations, officers from Jurong Police Division managed to establish the identities of the other two suspects. Both suspects were subsequently arrested on 12 Jan 2011 at Jurong West and Woodlands respectively. The victim’s handphone was also successfully recovered. Preliminary investigations revealed that the three suspects are believed to be involved in other similar cases islandwide.

The three suspects, aged 21 to 25, will be charged in the Subordinate Courts on 13 Jan 2011 for offences of Impersonating as a Public Servant under Section 170 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, which carries a jail term which may extend to 2 years, or with a fine, or both. In addition, they will also be charged for the offence of Theft under Section 379 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, which carries a jail term of not more than 3 years and with a fine, or both. A Court Order will be sought to remand the suspects for further investigations.

Commander of Jurong Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Florence Chua, commended the passer-by for his public spiritedness. She added, “The arrest was made possible because of the assistance of the public-spirited individual. This reinforces the importance of a strong Police-community partnership in keeping our neighborhoods safe.”

Members of the public are advised to be wary of such perpetrators and to always verify the identity of persons claiming to be representatives of government agencies by calling the organizations concerned or checking their identification passes. If in doubt, members of the public should contact the Police for assistance immediately.

Singapore Police Arrested a 23-year-old Yishun Taxi Robber

Singapore Police have arrested a 23-year-old man who is believed to be involved in a case of taxi robbery at Yishun Ring Road.

On 6 December 2010 at about 3.20 am, a 48-year-old taxi driver reported that he had been robbed by an unknown man who was armed with a knife. The victim had picked up the suspect as a passenger along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 and dropped him off in the vicinity of Blk 414 Yishun Ring Road. Before alighting, the suspect informed the victim that he would return to pay him after withdrawing money from a nearby ATM. However, when the suspect returned, he took out a knife and robbed the victim of cash amounting to S$290/-.

Through extensive follow up investigations and protracted enquiries, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division managed to establish the suspect’s identity. On 11 January 2011 at about 8.00 am , the suspect was arrested in the vicinity of Yishun Ring Road.

The suspect will be charged in Court No. 26 on 13 January 2011 for Armed Robbery under Section 392 read with Section 397 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224. If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to 14 years and shall be liable to a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane.

Commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division HQ, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Hsu Sin Yun, commended his officers for their good investigative work. DAC Hsu also advised taxi drivers to be wary of suspicious persons boarding their taxis. When confronted, taxi drivers should remain calm, take note of the physical appearance and distinctive features of the perpetrator(s) and call for the Police as soon as possible.

source: Singapore Police

Two Filipino women jailed for conspiracy to cheat Standard Chartered Bank.

Two Filipino women were jailed in Singapore for being part of a conspiracy to cheat Standard Chartered Bank.

One of them, Charon Legaspi Dimpas, was sentenced to 45 months behind bars for cheating the bank of nearly $760,000.

The 26-year-old former direct sales agent from telemarketing company, Touch & Tech, committed the offence between June and November 2009.

She pleaded guilty on Monday to eight charges while 88 other similar ones were taken into consideration.

The other woman, 39-year-old Maria Theresa Arenas Garcia, was sentenced to six months' jail for being part of the ruse.

Touch & Tech had been engaged by the bank to make calls to prospective applicants to market the unsecured credit facilities it offered.

Dimpas became part of a syndicate that illegally helped foreigners obtain the loans from the bank even though they were not eligible.

She forged her applicants' payslips by inflating their monthly incomes above the stipulated $60,000.

The court heard that their annual income has to be at least that amount to be eligible for the bank's credit facilities.

And because foreigners holding employment passes must have a minimum of one-year validity remaining on their working papers, Dimpas also forged letters of extension for employment to assist her applicants.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Magdalene Huang told the court that Dimpas earned a commission of more than $8,000 from her 96 successful applications using the forged documents.

Ms Huang added that Dimpas was allegedly encouraged to do so by her former boss, Singaporean Abdul Karim Baba, who too was entitled to commissions and bonuses from the submissions to the bank.

It's believed Abdul Karim, 60, also helped check the forged documents and allegedly suggested to his subordinates, who were part of the scam, to darken the font and include some smudges to the forged documents to make them appear authentic.

Most of Dimpas' applicants were believed to be referrals provided by a 28-year-old Filipino technician, Mark Robert Fajilan Landicho. The latter is believed to have attracted applicants by placing an advertisement on a Filipino community online portal.

A post on pinoysg allegedly put up by him stated that he could help them process their applications for loans and credit cards from Standard Chartered Bank even if they did not earn the stipulated income.

It's believed he received $75 for each successful application.

Both Landicho and Abdul Karim have already been charged for allegedly taking part in the scam.

Garcia, one of the many applicants, submitted forged payslips and a bogus letter of extension for employment. In doing so, the administrative operation executive deceived the bank into giving her a loan of $10,500.

For the offences, the women could have been jailed up to 10 years and fined on each charge.

Link from the subordinate court hearing their case.

AKON Live at Singapore Indoor Stadium

Akon is coming back…..

With worldwide sales of over seven million albums and certified gold & platinum status in over 23 countries, Grammy-nominated AKON is one of the most recognizable voices in music today. AKON boasts two multi-platinum albums and 21 Billboard Hot 100 songs, and is best known as the first artiste to hold both the one and two spots simultaneously on the Billboard charts twice. Instrumental in discovering Lady Gaga. The Senegalese-American singe has had over 145 guest appearances featuring artistes such as Michael Jackson and Gwen Stefani.

AKON released his new album Freedom in 2 December 2008, which spawned 4four monster singles: "Right Now (Na Na Na)", "I'm So Paid" (featuring Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy), "Beautiful" (featuring Kardinal Offishall and Colby O'Donis) and "We Don't Care?.

A singer-songwriter, record producer and entrepreneur, he has had six Grammy Awards nominations and has produced many hits for artists such as Lady Gaga, Colby O'Donis and Leona Lewis. Lady Gaga and T-Pain are two artists who were given their chance at fame by AKON.

AKON is now working on his fourth studio album, Stadium Music, of which some tracks are produced by David Guetta. The album's lead single, "Angel", will be released to US radio stations on September 14, 2010.

AKON has established the Konfidence Foundation. This is a non-profit organization which is dedicated to increasing public awareness of the conditions in Africa and empowering individuals with the tools needed to build the Africa of tomorrow.

 

DATE: 8 Jan 2011
Sat, 8pm

DURATION: Approx 2 hrs

VENUE(S): Singapore Indoor Stadium

Cost: Standard (Free Standing) - S$148
Standard (Reserved Seating) - S$158, S$128, S$108, S$88

Add to above price $3 Booking Fee per ticket for tickets above $20 and $1 Booking Fee per ticket for tickets $20 and below. Charges include GST where applicable