Foiled: Vile hustle to swindle his gold

The 65-year-old withdrew all the money from his bank account on the evening of June 19. He went to two pawnshops and bought $52,700 worth of gold bars.

- By Kareyst Lin

Then, as instructed, he made his way to Pasir Ris MRT station and handed the gold over to a woman he had never met before. She took the package and walked away without a word, says Mr Sng, who declined to give his full name.

When he returned home and told his wife what had happened, her reaction stunned him. "That's a scam," she said immediately.

Mr Sng, a technician who retired about two weeks later in July, thought he was helping Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officers with a criminal investigation.

The scam began that June 19 afternoon. Mr Sng was at work when his phone rang. Speaking in English, the caller claimed to be from financial services firm UnionPay and said that Mr Sng had recently signed up for a new insurance plan.

He was confused. He hadn't signed up for anything, he says, "so I told him it must be a mistake".

The "UnionPay staff" agreed to cancel the plan but added that Mr Sng's personal information might have been misused. Sounding concerned, the caller offered to refer Mr Sng to someone from MAS to help investigate the issue.