$1.9m seized in police operation targeting scam activities; 9 arrested
SINGAPORE – About $1.9 million in suspected scam proceeds was seized by the police's Anti-Scam Command (ASC) in a near month-long joint operation targeting government official impersonation, investment and job scams.
In a media statement on May 29, the police said that 400 bank accounts were frozen in the operation, which took place from April 15 to May 13 and involved officers from ASC working with the police land divisions' Scam Strike teams and participating local banks.
Islandwide raids were conducted to locate those suspected of handing their bank accounts to scammers for use in money laundering activities.
Nine people – seven men and two women between the ages of 18 and 33 – were arrested, and another 33 people are being investigated.
The 42 people are believed to be involved in more than 200 cases of scams.
The police also disrupted more than 900 online enablers and terminated more than 806 phone lines used in the scams.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Those convicted of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct in certain circumstances may be jailed for up to three years, fined up to $50,000, or both.
For the offence of unauthorised access to computer material, convicted individuals may be jailed up to two years, fined $5,000 or both.
The police advised the public to always reject requests by others to use their Singpass credentials, bank accounts or mobile lines to avoid being held accountable for their misuse.
In a separate statement on May 29, the police said that the officers from ASC had collaborated with DBS Bank and the Singpass Anti-Fraud Team to prevent victims of government impersonation scams losing $820,000 in two cases in April.
In the first case, a 44-year-old man was on April 2 contacted by an unknown caller allegedly claiming to work for Citibank. The caller then directed him to a scammer posing as an official from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The bogus official then told the man he was under investigation for money laundering, and instructed him to transfer $200,000 to a specified DBS account 'for investigative purposes'. Anti-scam measures implemented by ASC allowed DBS to detect suspicious activities in the scammers' bank account, and the bank intercepted the transfer to prevent the loss for the victim.
In the second case, which also took place on April 2, a 77-year-old woman was referred to the authorities by staff at DBS Bank's Holland branch after they suspected that she had fallen prey to a scam.
The woman had requested to make a cash withdrawal of $200,000 for her nephew's wedding, having already withdrawn $160,000 the previous day.
ASC officers later found that the woman had been contacted by an unknown caller allegedly claiming to work for a telecommunications company, who referred her to scammers posing as officials from the Hong Kong police and MAS.
The woman was told to withdraw $620,000 and hand the money over to the scammers, also 'for investigative purposes', but the Singapore authorities were able to successfully intercept the transactions and prevent her from losing the amount.
Police has advised the public to adopt precautionary measures, which includes installing the ScamShield app and setting up security features for internet banking transactions.
For more information on scams, visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield helpline on 1799.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction
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