In December 2024, the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) worked with Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank in two separate scam cases, preventing more than $218,900 in losses for the victims. In these cases, the ASC and the banks acted swiftly to intercept the funds and engage the victims, successfully convincing them of the deceptive schemes they had fallen prey to.
Case 1 – Job Scam
In the first case, a 69-year-old woman befriended a scammer online in November 2024 and was later offered a dropshipping job opportunity. The job required the victim to access a website to facilitate transactions. On this platform, "customers" would approach her to purchase goods, and she was required to place orders for these goods from a "supplier". The victim would make an advance payment to the "supplier" first and would receive a sales commission from the "customer" when the deal was completed. By the end of November 2024, the victim had made payments totalling $112,000 to the bank accounts provided by the "supplier".
With the growing demand for orders from “customers” on the platform, the victim was encouraged to top up her account to purchase more goods from the "supplier" in order to complete more orders. As such, on 3 December 2024, when she attempted to withdraw $200,000 in cash at a Standard Chartered Bank branch, her withdrawal was stopped by the branch staff. The victim was unable to produce any invoices to support her purchase for goods. The branch staff also noted frequent cash withdrawals made from her bank account during this period and suspected that the victim might be involved in a scam. The case was raised to the bank’s fraud team, who then escalated it to ASC, where officers swiftly engaged the victim to understand the situation. The victim was eventually convinced that she had fallen prey to a scam. This quick intervention prevented losses amounting to $200,000, which the victim had attempted to withdraw that day.
Case 2 – Impersonation scam
In the second case, a 56-year-old woman received a call in December 2024 from a scammer claiming to be a WeChat staff member. The victim was informed that her WeChat insurance policy would soon be due, and to prevent incurring additional charges through auto-deduction, she needed to cancel the policy. Believing there might be extra charges incurred, the victim followed the scammer's instructions to cancel the policy, which allegedly required an upfront payment. On the instructions of the scammer, the victim transferred more than $69,000 to a bank account provided by the scammer.
When the victim attempted another transaction of more than $18,900 on 7 December 2024, it was detected as a suspicious transaction by DBS Bank's Anti-Scam Team and they immediately placed a hold on the funds. DBS alerted the officers from ASC, who swiftly proceeded to engage the victim. After pointing out the red flags to the victim, she was convinced that she had fallen prey to a scam. This prompt intervention prevented further losses amounting to more than $18,900 for the victim.
ACT Against Scams
Members of the public are advised to adopt the following precautionary measures:
ADD – Add the ScamShield app and set security features (e.g. set up transaction limits for internet banking transactions, enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Multifactor Authentication for banks and e-wallets).
CHECK – For scam signs with official sources such as the ScamShield helpline (1799). You can also check the legitimacy of suspicious messages, phone numbers and website links via the ScamShield app or visit the ScamShield website at www.scamshield.gov.sg. Check with the merchant listed in the advertisement/post to ensure that the post is reputable and legitimate.
TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.
If you have any information relating to such crimes or are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield Helpline at 1799. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!
Standard Chartered Bank staff and ASC officer intervening in Case 1
ASP Chu Kok Min (left) and Mr Rajendaran, Manager, Fraud Risk Management, at Standard Chartered Bank (right), worked together to prevent the potential loss of $200,000 by a job scam victim.
DBS Bank staff and ASC officer intervening in Case 2
ASP Lau Wai Khin (left) and Ms Juliana Jasmani, Investigation Specialist from DBS Anti-Scam Team (right), helped to prevent a victim from losing more than $18,900 to an impersonation scam.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
13 January 2025 @ 8:20 PM