On 28 August 2019, the Singapore Police Force CyberCrime Command (CCC) presented tokens of appreciation to three private organisations who are partners of the Alliance of Public PrivAte Cybercrime sTakeholders (APPACT) to recognise their effort and vigilance in detecting, deterring and preventing cybercrime. The appreciation ceremony was held during a bi-annual networking event for APPACT partners.
APPACT is a dedicated public-private industry platform established by SPF CCC to exchange information among the partners on suspicious cybercrime activities and latest trends. APPACT comprises partners from various industries, such as financial institutions, telecommunications service providers and cryptocurrency businesses.
A total of 14 individuals representing the three organisations – United Overseas Bank (UOB), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and StarHub – were commended during the event:
- In February 2019, three UOB staff rendered assistance to Police which resulted in the successful arrest of a 23-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman. Cash amounting to S$97,000 belonging to the victim of a bank email phishing scam was seized.
- In March 2019, an OCBC customer fell prey to a china official impersonation scam when she revealed her OCBC Internet banking credentials to the scammer, resulting in the transfer of S$148,500 from her bank account to an overseas bank account without her permission. Two staff from OCBC constantly provided assurance to the customer and closely monitored the recovery of funds. OCBC Bank successfully recovered the entire sum for the customer.
- In June 2019, a staff from StarHub assisted the Police in relation to a case of suspected kidnapping reported to an overseas charity. The swift assistance resulted in the identification and arrest of a 15-year-old youth. It was confirmed that no kidnapping took place.
- In a separate case in June 2019, a team of 9 staff from StarHub assisted the Police in investigations in relation to a series of bomb threats made on an online portal. This resulted in the swift follow up by Police to secure critical evidence for the identification of a potential suspect.
The Singapore Police Force will continue to work closely with stakeholders to prevent cybercrime as well as educate members of the public on prevailing cybercrime trends.
Staff from - United Overseas Bank (UOB), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and StarHub Ltd were commended during the appreciation ceremony.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
31 August 2019 @ 9:00 AM