Elderly woman cheated of S$12,700 in "scratch and win" scam
Posted: 08 June 2012 1826 hrs
SINGAPORE: In the first five months of the year, 46 Singaporeans have fallen prey to "scratch and win" lottery scams in Johor.
In all they lost S$175,000 to con men.
The latest case happened last Friday morning.
The 64-year-old victim was in Johor Bahru to do some shopping.
While she was crossing the overhead bridge towards Johor Customs, she was approached by two Chinese men.
They told her she can win prizes in a "scratch and win" game.
The elderly woman played the game and was told to follow the two suspects to Happy Gardens in a cab, to claim her prizes.
When she arrived at the location, the victim was told by a woman that the prizes would be sent to Ang Mo Kio for collection, and that she must pay S$12,700 in advance as taxes in order to claim the prizes.
The victim agreed and was brought back to Singapore in a Malaysian-registered car.
She withdrew S$12,700 in cash from a bank in Woodlands and handed over the money to the con men.
Thereafter, she was brought back to Johor where she was told that an electric pulse massager worth S$12,700 would be delivered to her house in two weeks.
The woman was brought back to Singapore with other "prizes" that she had won, which include a stove and a water system.
The items were valued at RM$1,556.
The victim reached home at about 7pm.
She came to her senses after a while and realised that she had been cheated.
Police have urged the public to be wary of such get-rich-quick offers.
They urged those who have fallen prey to similar scams to contact the police at 999 or 1800-255 0000.
- CNA/cc
