The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of the Singapore Police Force together with the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) of the Royal Malaysia Police, launched a joint investigation resulting in the arrest of six male Africans aged between 28 and 40, in Malaysia on 22 April 2022. This is the first successful joint collaboration between the two Police Forces in dismantling internet love scam syndicates this year.
Since March 2022, the two Forces have shared critical intelligence based on findings from internet love scams cases. In such scams, fraudsters would cultivate online relationships with victims, and then ask for money from the victims to pay fines and fees after falsely claiming that they were detained by government authorities, or that their gift parcels meant for victims are withheld at customs, and money was needed to pay for the fines. In most cases, the fraudsters posed as successful or attractive individuals.
Between 22 March 2022 and 7 April 2022, the Police received two reports whereby two 46-year-old female victims reported that they had fallen for internet love scams after suffering a loss of $15,000 and $20,000 respectively. For the first victim, she befriended a male subject on a dating application in March 2021 and developed a relationship with him. The subject claimed that he was a US citizen and was working in Singapore as a petroleum engineer. The subject claimed that he needed money to pay for equipment and custom clearance fees as his bank account was frozen. The victim agreed and transferred a total of $15,000 to a bank account provided by the subject. After these transfers, the subject purportedly requested for more money and the victim realised it was a scam.
The second victim also befriended a male subject on a dating application sometime in February 2022. The subject claimed that he was a geologist and was going to visit her in Singapore. On 6 March 2022, the subject purportedly requested the victim for $20,000 to pay for his expenses in Singapore and she transferred the money. On 20 March 2022, the subject purportedly requested for another sum of $20,000 which the victim had refused to provide. The subject kept asking for more money and the victim later felt suspicious about the entire incident and decided to lodge a police report.
Through close collaboration and joint investigations with CCID/RMP, the syndicates believed to be behind the cases were identified and established to be based in Malaysia. Between 22 and 23 April 2022, a team of six Anti-Scam Command officers, together with CCID/RMP officers, conducted raids at two apartments in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and arrested six male Africans for their suspected involvement in internet love scams. During the raid, an assortment of laptops, mobile phones and credit cards were seized as case exhibits. The Singapore team in Malaysia also discovered that there were several Singapore handphone numbers and bank accounts in the electronic devices. Anti-Scam Command officers in Singapore immediately conducted interventions to prevent potential victims from falling prey to the scam and managed to avert further losses for three victims. The two syndicates are believed to be responsible for at least ten cases in Singapore involving more than $310,000.
Director CAD, Mr David Chew said, “We will continue to work closely with CCID to disrupt the activities of cross border internet love scam syndicates. These syndicates often make use of Singapore bank accounts to launder their illicit proceeds. We will deal hard blows to the syndicate by conducting prompt investigations to deprive them of their criminal proceeds. I would like to thank Director CCID, Commissioner Dato Mohd Kamarudin Bin Md Din, and his officers from the Intelligence and Operations Division of CCID for their strong support and leadership in fighting online scams.”
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. The Police would also like to warn members of the public that it is a serious offence to knowingly relinquish a bank account for others to use in the commission of an offence.
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 0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept secretly confidential.
Exhibits seized during CCID’s & CAD’s raid
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
30 April 2022 @ 12:45 PM