The Police have arrested four men and four women, aged between 19 and 35, for their suspected involvement in the recent spate of banking - related malware incidents.
Since March 2023, the Police have received numerous reports informing that malware was used to compromise mobile devices, resulting in unauthorised transactions made from their banking accounts even though the victims did not divulge their one - time passwords (OTP) to anyone.
The identities of four men and four women who were believed to be involved in some of the reported incidents were identified and arrested during an island wide operation conducted from 13 June 2023 to 14 June 2023. Cash amounting to $3,800, cashier’s order amounting to $9912.56 and two handphones were seized as case exhibits.
Two men will be charged in court on 15 June 2023 for the offence of acquiring benefits from criminal conduct, punishable under section 54(5)(a) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. If convicted, the offence carries an imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both. Police investigations are ongoing against the other six persons for the alleged offences of acquiring benefits from criminal conduct and unauthorised disclosure of access code.
Members of the public are reminded not to download any suspicious Android Package Kit (APK) from unknown sources as they may contain malware. To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others to use your bank account or mobile lines as you will be held accountable if these are linked to crimes.
The Police will spare no effort to track down cybercriminals who are responsible for the banking related malware incidents, and will continue to take tough enforcement action against those who flout the law.
Annex
Photo of cash seized as case exhibits ▼
Photo of cashier’s order seized as case exhibit ▼
Photo of mobile phones seized as case exhibits ▼
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
15 June 2023 @ 1:45 AM