Over 1,800 arrested in cross-border anti-scam ops with loses amounting to $289m, Singapore News
Over 1,800 suspects were arrested by law enforcement agencies in seven Asian territories including Singapore in a month-long crackdown on scams.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a press release on Wednesday (June 4) that it had collaborated with anti-scam teams from Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, the Maldives, Thailand and Macao for the operation conducted between April 28 and May 28.
Across the territories, 33,900 people aged between 14 and 81 were investigated for their suspected involvement in scam activities.
SPF said they are believed to be involved in more than 9,200 scam cases, with victims reportedly losing over $289 million in total.
More than 32,600 bank accounts suspected to be linked to scams were also detected and frozen by the seven law enforcement agencies, with more than $26.2 million seized. 106 arrested in Singapore
In Singapore, 545 people were investigated during the operation, and another 106 people were arrested.
They were involved in more than 1,300 local scam cases which resulted in losses of approximately $39.3 million, according to SPF.
The police here also seized more than $7.69 million in 714 frozen bank accounts.
At the start of the operation in end-April, SPF's Anti-Scam Centre foiled two separate cases of Chinese services impersonation scams with assistance from Malaysia's National Scam Response Centre.
The two victims transferred $25,000 and $45,000 respectively to Singapore bank accounts provided by the scammer, before realising they had fallen for a scam.
SPF said its Anti-Scam Centre analysed the funds trail and found that part of their funds had been transferred to bank accounts in Malaysia on the same day the victims performed their transaction.
With help from Malaysia's National Scam Response Centre, more than $19,000 in total was successfully recovered in the bank accounts in Malaysia.
"A transnational threat requires a transnational response. No single jurisdiction has an adequate answer to this scourge, but we are collectively stronger together," said David Chew, director of SPF's Commercial Affairs Department.
"By combining our resources and enforcement capabilities, we are creating a united front against scam. We will continue strengthening these international partnerships to ensure our citizens are safe from scams and scammers have no safe haven."
[[nid:718598]]
lim.kewei@asiaone.com
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