The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of the Singapore Police Force worked with the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) of the Royal Malaysia Police, Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) of the Hong Kong Police Force and the Information Technology Crimes Division (ITCD) of the Macau Judiciary Police (MJP), to jointly cripple a transnational Internet love scam syndicate based in Malaysia.
Since January 2019, officers from the four agencies have collaborated by sharing intelligence with each other on Internet love scams reported in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macau. Through joint investigations, a syndicate believed to be behind the cases reported in the four jurisdictions, was identified and established to be based in Malaysia.
Between 19 and 21 November 2019, CCID led simultaneous raids across several locations in Malaysia and arrested three Nigerian men, 11 Malaysian women and four Malaysian men. The syndicate is believed to be involved in at least 139 cases of Internet love scams reported in the four jurisdictions, involving losses of about S$5.8 million. Several telecommunication devices and laptops were seized during the operation.
In Singapore, CAD officers concurrently conducted investigations against four Singaporean women, aged between 28 and 67, for allegedly facilitating the transfer of criminal proceeds to the syndicate. A total of 30 cases reported in Singapore, involving losses of over S$262,000, were solved.
Director CAD, Mr David Chew, said, “I would like to thank Director CCID, Commissioner Datuk Seri Mohd Zakaria Ahmad, and his officers from the Operations and Intelligence Division of CCID, for leading the main arrest operations in Malaysia. The success of this joint operation demonstrates the common resolve of the Singapore Police Force and its regional partners to fight transnational fraud, and sends a strong signal to cross-border scam syndicates that we will dismantle their networks and arrest their members, wherever they may be hiding.”
Members of the public are advised to be careful when befriending strangers online. They should also be wary when asked to send money to bank accounts of people whom they do not know or who claim to be government officers.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police hotline at 1800-255 0000or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
28 November 2019 @ 3:05 PM