Man, 55, arrested for cheating woman of $54,000
A 59-year-old man suspected of cheating a woman of at least $54,000 has been arrested.
Friday, Oct 16, 2015
The woman, 66, had reported to the police that she had been cheated after befriending a man on social media, according to a police media statement.
Her new friend claimed to be be a sailor and told her he would be sending his belongings to her for safe-keeping.
The victim subsequently received calls claiming that her friend's parcel contained a large amount of cash and that he was detained by the authorities from a neighbouring country.
After making several payments upon the requests by unknown callers, the victim became suspicious. She decided to lodge a police report as she did not receive any parcel.
Officers from Jurong Division investigated the case and managed to arrest the suspect at Raffles Place yesterday. During the arrest and subsequent raids, the police recovered cash amounting to more than $126,000. Two handphones were also seized for investigation.
The police said anyone found guilty of cheating can face imprisonment for up to 10 years and a fine.
It advised people to be aware of scams and adopt the following measures:
- Exercise caution when befriending strangers through the internet
- Do not send money to people you do not know well. Scammers may spend months building an online relationship with you before asking for money
- Contact the police immediately if you receive any message or call from anyone claiming he/she is in some kind of trouble overseas and need you to urgently send money over
- Inform the police if anyone tries to extort money from you
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