Six persons, aged 19 to 30, and three teenagers, aged 16 to 18, will be charged in court on 31 October 2023 for their suspected involvement in money laundering activities linked to banking-related phishing scam cases involving malware, which resulted in losses from victims’ bank accounts.
Between 27 July 2023 and 14 September 2023, the Police received several reports informing that malware was used to compromise Android mobile devices, resulting in unauthorised transactions made from the victims’ bank accounts, even when they had not divulged their Internet banking credentials, One-Time-Passwords (OTPs) or Singpass credentials to anyone. In these cases, the victims responded to advertisements (e.g. on cleaning services, food items such as mooncake, seafood, groceries, etc.) via WhatsApp and Facebook. They were then instructed by the scammers to download Android Package Kit (or APK) from non-official app stores to facilitate the purchase, which led to malware being installed on the victims’ mobile devices.
The scammers would convince the victims via phone calls or text messages to turn on accessibility services on their Android phones and by doing so, phones’ security would be weakened, and scammers would be able to take full control of the phones. Scammers could then log every keystroke, steal banking credentials stored on the phones to remotely access the victims’ banking apps, add money mules as payees, raise payment limits and transfer monies out to money mules. The scammers could further delete SMS and email notifications of the bank transactions to cover their tracks.
Through follow up investigations, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department arrested the nine persons. Investigations revealed that the nine persons are suspected to be involved in the following cases of money laundering. The cases are:
- In July 2023, a 16-year-old male teenager responded to an online advertisement on Telegram which offered him fast cash, and later opened a bank account and disclosed his Internet banking credentials to an unknown person. His bank account was subsequently used to launder proceeds of crime;
- In July 2023, a 27-year-old man handed over his Internet banking credentials and ATM card to an unknown person who had offered him cash in return for using his bank account. His bank account was subsequently used to launder proceeds of crime;
- In July 2023, a 19-year-old woman agreed to disclose her Singpass credentials to a friend on Instagram who requested for it to open an investment account. Five new bank accounts were later opened without her knowledge and used to launder proceeds of crime;
- In July and August 2023, a 28-year-old man responded to online job advertisements which offered him fast cash in return for using his bank accounts. He then handed his existing Internet banking credentials to an unknown person on Telegram, and later, three new bank accounts were opened without his knowledge. He also opened another three bank accounts online and disclosed the Internet banking credentials to an unknown person on Telegram. His bank accounts were subsequently used to launder proceeds of crime;
- In August 2023, a 22-year-old man agreed to disclose his Singpass credentials to an unknown person on Telegram after responding to an online advertisement on fast cash opportunity. Four new bank accounts were later opened without his knowledge and of which, three bank accounts were used to launder proceeds of crime;
- In August 2023, a 19-year-old man responded to an online advertisement on Telegram which offered him fast cash, and later opened a bank account online. He then disclosed his Internet banking credentials to an unknown person on Telegram. Three new bank accounts were later opened without his knowledge. His bank accounts were subsequently used to launder proceeds of crime;
- In September 2023, a 30-year-old man handed over his Internet banking credentials and ATM card to an acquaintance who had offered him cash in return for using his bank account. His bank account was then used to launder criminal proceeds;
- In September 2023, a 17-year-old female teenager handed over her Internet banking credentials and ATM card to an unknown person who had offered her cash in return for using her bank account. Her bank account was subsequently used to launder proceeds of crime; and
In September 2023, an 18-year-old female teenager disclosed her Singpass credentials to an unknown person on Telegram after responding to an online advertisement on cryptocurrency investment. She later received several SMS notifications from the banks and three new bank accounts were opened. Her bank accounts were then used to launder criminal proceeds.
For disclosing Singpass credentials, the offence under Section 8(2)(a) of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 carries an imprisonment term not exceeding three years or a fine not exceeding $10,000, or both, for a first-time offender.
For conspiring to cheat the bank into opening the bank account, the offence under Section 417 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term not exceeding three years, a fine, or both. For abetting unknown persons to secure unauthorised access to the bank’s computer system, the offence under Section 3(1) read with Section 12 and Section 14 of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 carries a fine not exceeding $5,000, an imprisonment term not exceeding two years, or both, for a first-time offender.
The Police take a serious view of these offences and will not hesitate to take action against individuals who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. To avoid being an accomplice in these crimes, members of the public should always reject seemingly attractive money-making opportunities promising fast and easy pay-outs for the use of their Singpass accounts, bank accounts, or allow their personal bank accounts to be used to receive and transfer money for others. The Police would like to remind members of the public that individuals will be held accountable if they are found to be linked to such crimes.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline 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 strictly confidential.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
30 October 2023 @ 9:12 PM