35 people arrested for suspected involvement in government official impersonation scams

SINGAPORE: A total of 35 people have been arrested following an island-wide anti-scam operation for their suspected involvement in the recent spate of government official impersonation scams.
The suspects – 26 men and nine women – are aged between 17 and 47, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Friday (Oct 11).
All but one of them “had allegedly facilitated the scam cases by relinquishing their bank accounts and/or internet banking credentials for monetary gains”, SPF said.
A 47-year-old man had also allegedly received criminal proceeds in his bank account.
Twenty-two other people, comprising 12 men and 10 women aged between 17 and 61, are assisting in investigations, police said. A 16-year-old male is also part of the investigations.
On Thursday, the police and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that about S$6.7 million (US$5.1 million) have been lost to government official impersonation scammers in September, with at least 100 reported cases.
In this variant of the scam, victims would receive unsolicited calls from scammers impersonating bank officers, typically from DBS, OCBC, UOB or Standard Chartered Bank.
The scammer would inform the victim that a credit card had been issued under their name, or that there were suspicious or fraudulent transactions detected in the victim’s bank account, and would ask the victim to confirm these financial transactions.
When the victim denied knowledge of such transactions, the scammer would transfer the call to a second person who would impersonate a police officer or MAS official.
At times, the scammers would hold video calls dressed as police or MAS officers, using fake badges and backdrops with the agency’s logo.
The communication between the second scammer and the victim could subsequently be moved to messaging applications such as WhatsApp, police said. 
“In some instances, the scammers may provide fake warrant cards or fake official documents to lend credence to their deceit.
“The scammers would accuse the victim of being involved in criminal activities such as money laundering and ask the victim to transfer monies to ‘safety accounts’ designated by the government to assist in investigations,” said SPF.
The victims would only realise that they had been scammed when the “officials” became uncontactable or when they sought verification of the status of their cases with the banks or the police.
“The Police take a serious view of these offences and will not hesitate to take action against individuals who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be sternly dealt with in accordance with the law,” SPF warned.
According to guidelines issued by the Sentencing Advisory Panel, those who allow their bank accounts or Singpass credentials to be used in facilitating scams should be sentenced to at least six months of jail.
“The courts also have the discretion to enhance sentences if there are aggravating factors, such as the involvement of vulnerable victims,” the police said.