Singapore Police Successfully Intervene in 2,805 Ongoing Scams, Arrest 29 Suspects

Recently, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) has made several advances in its scam-crackdown actions.

On July 2, the Singapore Police announced the arrest of 29 suspects in an effort to crack down on money mule activity. The suspects, ranging in age from 17 to 48, are said to be involved in various scams including officer impersonation scams, love scams, and phishing scams.

The suspects were charged in court on July 3 with multiple counts for their involvement in money mule activity, including providing unauthorized payment services. These suspects assisted the scam syndicates by selling or lending their bank accounts to them, or concealing the purpose of the account opening from the banks and handing over ATM cards and internet banking credentials to the syndicates.

According to Singapore law, these suspects face imprisonment and fines if convicted.

The Singapore Police Force also works with local banks to detect victims of multiple fraud types using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology, which facilitates intervention in fraudulent activities and alerts to stop victims from transacting with fraudsters, reducing potential financial losses.

With this technology, the police can quickly locate potential victims and send warning alerts by SMSes. And most victims who receive the SMS can quickly realize they have been scammed.

Banks working with the police include DBS Bank, UOB Bank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC Bank and GSX Bank.

Over a two-month period, officers from the Anti-Scam Center of Singapore (ASC) and the banks sent about 14,000 alert SMSes to nearly 10,000 potential scam victims, successfully stopping 2,805 ongoing scams and avoiding more than $47 million in potential losses.