The Singapore Police Force’s Anti-Scam Centre (“ASC”), together with DBS bank, UOB bank and the Hong Kong Police Force’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (“ADCC”) foiled a technical support scam and successfully recovered more than S$370,000.
On 18 April 2024, DBS detected suspicious transactions of about S$180,000 transferred from the bank account of a 70-year-old victim to a bank account in Hong Kong. The DBS Anti-Scam Team immediately blocked further transactions from the victim’s bank account to prevent further losses and notified ASC. Acting on the information, ASC swiftly notified the ADCC regarding the beneficiary bank account.
As the victim was uncontactable, the ASC activated officers from the Ang Mo Kio South Neighbourhood Police Centre’s Community Policing Unit to visit the victim’s residence, but the victim was not at home. The ASC tried other means and managed to reach the victim’s family friend, who disclosed that S$240,000 was missing from the victim’s UOB bank account. The ASC immediately worked with UOB to suspend the victim’s UOB bank account and traced the funds to a bank account in Hong Kong. At the same time, the ASC worked with ADCC, successfully recovering the full amount from the bank account in Hong Kong.
It was later established that the victim was surfing the internet on his computer when a pop-up notification appeared. Unable to close the pop-up notification, the victim then called the “Microsoft Helpline” number that was displayed on the pop-up notification. He was informed that his computer was ‘hacked’, and his bank accounts were used for illegal activities. The victim was re-directed to a ‘SPF cybercrime unit officer’ who alleged that the victim’s bank accounts were used for illegal activities. Upon the instructions of the scammer, the victim divulged his bank account credentials, which included his user ID and passwords, to facilitate the ‘investigation’. This allowed the scammers to take control of the victim’s bank accounts, leading to monies being transferred out.
This swift coordination between DBS, UOB, ASC and ADCC led to more than S$370,000 recovered for the victim.
The Police’s close collaboration with the banks and foreign law enforcement agencies attests the importance of how strong partnerships are imperative to combat scams and transnational fraud and in the recovery of illicit funds. Members of the public are advised to take the following steps immediately if they believe that they have fallen prey to such scams:
- Turn off your computer immediately to limit any further activities that scammers can perform;
- Uninstall any software that you have installed at the instructions of scammers;
- Perform a full anti-virus scan on your computer and delete any malware detected;
- Report the incident to your bank to halt further activities relating to your bank account(s);
- Change your Internet banking credentials and remove any unauthorised payees who may have been added to your bank accounts, and
- Report the incident to the bank and the Police.
The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- ADD – Add the ScamShield App to protect yourself from scam calls and SMSes. Set security features (e.g. set up transaction limits for internet banking transactions, enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Multifactor Authentication for banks.
- CHECK – Check for scam signs with official sources (e.g. ScamShield WhatsApp bot @ https://go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot, call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688, or visit www.scamalert.sg). Beware of unsolicited phone calls from dubious parties. Do not follow instructions from dubious parties to install applications, type commands into your device, log into your online banking account or reveal sensitive personal information.
- TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.
If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
01 May 2024 @ 2:50 PM