When Ms Teo Shaw Leng was alerted in August that an elderly customer was claiming she needed to withdraw around $500,000 for her critically ill "husband" in Europe, the deputy manager of UOB's PLQ branch in Paya Lebar sensed something was wrong.
She approached the customer, who was in her 70s, for more information, and saw a message from a foreign number pop up on the woman's phone which read: "Honey, are you ok?" This heightened her suspicion that the woman had fallen for a scam, and the deputy branch manager jumped into action immediately.
She spoke to the woman privately and learnt the latter had already withdrawn $300,000 from another bank to pay the medical bills of her "husband".
She then asked for proof of their marriage, but the woman could not provide any evidence.
Ms Teo told The Straits Times: "From our conversation, I learnt that she had been in a relationship with this man for over six months and they had communicated only online.
"She showed me photos of the hospital and sounded panicked when she talked about needing to send the money over." Ms Teo alerted her superiors and the bank's fraud investigation team, which froze the customer's account.
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Denne historien er fra December 08, 2023-utgaven av The Straits Times.
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VERDY'S APPROACH AN EYE-OPENER
Former Lions turned coaches Alam Shah and Isa inspired by stint with Japanese club
Lions' morale-boosting win comes at a price
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Belgium punish Italy at set pieces in 2-2 draw
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CARSLEY'S MIDFIELD OVERLOAD BACKFIRES
England temp boss dismayed by mistakes as Three Lions lose to Greece for first time
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SOCCEROOS HAVE NO FEAR
They head to Japan with confidence despite never having beaten the Samurai Blue there
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SABALENKA TO STICK TO HER BRAVE PLAN
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