Money laundering syndicate crippled in joint Hong Kong, Singapore and Interpol operation; 8 arrested
The transnational criminal group is believed to have laundered proceeds from technical support scams in Singapore and other scams in Hong Kong.
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
SINGAPORE: A transnational syndicate that had been laundering proceeds from technical support scams in Singapore was crippled by joint efforts between Interpol and police in Singapore and Hong Kong.
The organised criminal group operated in Hong Kong and was also involved in laundering proceeds from other scams there, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in a news release on Friday (Aug 16).
One of its masterminds, three members and three money mules were arrested during raids by Hong Kong police officers between Aug 9 and Aug 12. They were aged between 33 and 43.
The raids came after extensive information sharing and joint investigations by the police in Singapore and Hong Kong, said SPF.
“Cash amounting to HK$300,000 (S$50,760) and over 60 bank cards were recovered and seized as case exhibits,” it added.
Another HK$1.3 million of crime proceeds were successfully recovered through further follow-up investigations.
A 23-year-old Singaporean man was also arrested after it was discovered that he had relinquished his bank account to a criminal group associated with the busted money laundering syndicate. Investigations are ongoing.
The cross-border collaboration facilitated by Interpol was key to dismantling the syndicate, said Mr David Chew, director of the Commercial Affairs Department of SPF.
"SPF will continue to collaborate closely with Interpol and our counterparts in the Hong Kong Police Force to prevent, detect and deter transnational crime syndicates from victimising our citizens," he added.
TECH SUPPORT SCAMS
Between January and July, 185 reports related to technical support scams were made, with losses amounting to at least S$17.9 million, said SPF.
Victims of this type of scam would receive screen pop-ups on their laptops or desktops, claiming that their devices had been compromised by malware.
The pop-ups would also instruct them to seek immediate help from Microsoft or Apple technical support and include contact numbers for the victims to call.
When the call is made, scammers impersonating Microsoft or Apple tech support employees would claim that the victims’ devices had been compromised by “hackers” and were being used for illegal activities.
They would then instruct victims to access websites and/or download software that would grant the scammers remote access to their devices.
After this, the victims would be directed to log into their i-Banking accounts on the pretext of helping to apprehend the “hackers”.
This, however, was to allow the scammers to capture the victim’s internet banking ID and password.
From there, they would be able to use the remote access function to perform unauthorised transactions using the victim’s bank account.
In some cases, victims were guided to create cryptocurrency accounts or provide One-Time Passwords to authorise i-Banking transactions.
They would only realise that they had been scammed when they discovered unauthorised transfers or deductions from their bank accounts.
What to do if you fall prey to a technical support scam
- Turn off your computer immediately to stop any further unauthorised access to your computer and digital banking services by scammers.
- Uninstall any software that you have installed at the instructions of the scammers.
- Perform a full anti-virus scan on your computer and delete any malware detected.
- Report the incident to your bank to halt further activities relating to your bank accounts.
- Change your internet banking credentials and remove any unauthorised payees who may have been added to your bank accounts.
- Report the incident to the bank and the police.
This scam has targeted victims in many jurisdictions, said Mr Chew.
In July, SCMP reported that police in Hong Kong had witnessed a rising trend of fraudsters posing as tech support staff.
Expatriate and English-speaking residents were targets of the scam and more than HK$17 million had been lost in the last two months before the report, it said.
"Members of the public are reminded to exercise caution and vigilance when confronted by urgent unsolicited computer screen messages requesting that you click on web-links, make calls for technical support services or download unauthorised remote access software," said SPF.
