On 22 November 2024, the Singapore Police Force presented Community Partnership Awards to seven individuals for their assistance in separate cases of syndicated cheating cases.
In these cases, scam syndicates were believed to have provisioned stolen bank card credentials through e-commerce related phishing scams onto mobile devices. Mules were then recruited to enter Singapore to make fraudulent in-store transactions with illegitimate mobile phone payment applications that masquerade as genuine electronic wallets, via contactless payment method (also known as Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile payments), for high value electronic items or luxury goods. Some of the mules were tasked to sell the purchased items immediately for cash before leaving Singapore. The victims only realised that their bank cards had been compromised when they received SMS notifications from their banks, informing them of the fraudulent transactions made using their bank cards.
The brief facts of these cases are as follows:
- On 8 November 2024, Mr Sim Chin Peng (“Mr Sim”), a sales supervisor and Mr Lim Teck Guan (“Mr Lim”), a retail manager at the Best Denki outlet of Parkway Parade, served a man who attempted to purchase four iPhones, valued at over $7,500 via contactless payment. Both Mr Sim and Mr Lim grew suspicious upon noticing that the digital bank card presented was from a foreign bank and requested to see the physical bank card before processing the payment. The man refused and left the store, prompting Mr Sim to report the suspicious behaviour to the Police. Through follow up investigations, officers from Bedok Police Division established the identity of the man as well another woman who was also believed to be involved in the case. The two persons, who are Malaysia nationals, were subsequently arrested.
- On 8 November 2024, Mr Loo Tze Lai (“Mr Loo”), director of T2 Electronics at Lucky Plaza, processed multiple transactions made by three men for eighteen iPhones which amounted to over $35,500 in value. These transactions were made using different bank cards. Mr Loo was suspicious and only allowed the men to leave the store with a portion of their purchased items. He had requested for them to return with their physical identification documents before they were allowed to collect the remaining items. After the men left the store, Mr Loo reported their suspicious behaviours to the Police. Through follow up investigations, officers from the Central Police Division established the identities of the three men believed to be involved in the case. All three men are Malaysia nationals: one has been arrested and the other two have since left Singapore.
- On 5 November 2024, Mr Yee Weng Chuen (“Mr Yee”), a customer service executive at the Best Denki outlet of Ngee Ann City processed a transaction made by a man, comprising of two iPhones that were paid via contactless payment using stolen bank card credentials. The value of the items amounted to over $3,700. The actual cardholder subsequently reported the unauthorised transaction to Best Denki. The next day, the man returned to the same outlet to purchase another two iPhones using the same payment method. Mr Yee recognised the man and sought assistance from his colleagues, Mr Vincent Ng Chin Hau (“Mr Vincent”) and Ms Kasturi Vijayan (“Ms Kasturi”), to engage him while he called for the Police. Sensing that something was amiss, the man left the store without the purchased items. The man, who is established to be a Chinese national by officers from Tanglin Police Division, had left the country shortly.
- On 5 November 2024, Mr Neo Say Kang (“Mr Neo”), a retail manager at the Courts outlet of Funan, served a man who had requested to purchase three iPhones. The first attempt made via contactless payment was unsuccessful and this prompted the man to switch to another bank card in his second contactless payment attempt. After the successful transaction, the suspect requested to purchase another three iPhones, which raised the suspicion of Mr Neo, who obtained the assistance of his colleague to take a photograph of the man before proceeding with the second transaction. The value of the items amounted to over $11,300. Mr Neo subsequently reported the suspicious activities to the Police. Through follow up investigations, officers from Central Police Division established the identity of the man and two other men who were also believed to be involved in the case. The three men, who are all Chinese nationals, were subsequently arrested.
The timely reporting and crucial information provided by the retail staff led to the identification of the suspects, and the arrest of six persons who are allegedly involved in these cases. All six persons have been charged in Court between 8 November 2024 to 12 November 2024 with cheating and forgery offences under the Penal Code 1871.
Commander of Central Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Wong Keng Hoe commended the seven retail staff members for their vigilance: “All award recipients today were alert in their course of work and promptly reported the suspicious activities to the Police. Their crucial information enabled the Police to swiftly identify and apprehend the suspects. We encourage our retail partners to continue their vigilance and to help safeguard our communities from crime. The Police would also like to remind members of the public to safeguard their bank card details and not to disclose sensitive banking information to anyone.”
Annex
Group photo
DAC Wong Keng Hoe, Commander, Central Police Division with the award recipients, (from left) Mr Lim Teck Guan, Mr Sim Chin Peng and Mr Neo Say Kang▼
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
22 November 2024 @ 6:10 PM