Suspected online love scam victim arrested over S$600,000 in forged cashier’s orders: Police

SINGAPORE — A woman, believed to be a victim of an Internet love scam, was arrested over her suspected involvement in using two forged cashier’s orders worth more than S$600,000.

In a statement on Thursday (Oct 17), the Singapore Police Force said that they were alerted on Oct 10 to the case of “forged cashier’s orders presented at a bank”.

Investigations by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department established the identity of the 51-year-old woman and she was then arrested on Oct 15.

According to the police, preliminary investigations showed that the woman “is believed to be a victim of an Internet love scam” and had received the forged cashier’s orders via post from her online friend after she had agreed to deposit them into her bank account.

The woman’s online friend had claimed that the cashier’s orders were payment from his business partner and he “needed help” to have them deposited as “he has no bank account in Singapore”.

The request came after the woman had purportedly transferred about S$80,000 to her online friend since 2018 after he had claimed to be in financial difficulties, said the police.

The police added that another cashier’s order valued at S$442,371, also believed to be forged, was found in her possession.

Investigations are ongoing, and if convicted, the woman could be jailed for up to 15 years and fined.

In its statement, the police added that Internet love scams continue to be a crime of concern. Just last week, a 42-year-old woman was charged in court for transferring about S$1.4 million to an online friend with the hope of receiving from him a parcel containing cash and valuables.

She had allegedly misappropriated the same amount from her company.

In a reminder, the police said that members of the public are advised to adopt the following crime prevention measures:

• Be wary of strangers who befriend you online. They may not be who they claim to be.

• Do not receive or transfer money to, or on behalf of, such strangers you do not know well, especially if you have not met them in person.

• Meet all requests for money with caution. Be in control of your emotions knowing that it could be a scam. Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act.