Hi toting bunye thanks your article in Singapore Here’s a blurb from a public Miss Ellen Lee to Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng of Singapore on online cheating cases (source: Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore)
Q: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the number of reported cases of online cheating scams in the past 2 years; (b) what is the number of these reported cases where the culprits were arrested; (c) what are the measures undertaken by the police to detect and prevent such online scams; and (d) whether the police works with Interpol or other agencies as these crimes often involve an element of extra-territoriality.
A: The number of online cheating cases over the past 3 years has remained about the same: 61 cases in 2005, also 61 cases in 2006 and 57 cases, slight drop of 4 cases, in 2007. The most common situation is where someone places a false advertisement of a product or service on the Internet to induce victims to place orders online and make electronic payment. The victim then realises that he has been cheated only when the goods fail to arrive. Other online cheating scams involve fraudulent High Yield Investment Programs (HYIP), credit card frauds, lottery scams and advance fee scams.
The number of cases solved in 2005, 2006 and 2007 was 29, 28 and 12 respectively, representing a ratio of about 40% of cases solved. The number of culprits arrested over the same 3 years was 22, 9 and 15 respectively.
Our strategy to combat online cheating has 3 key thrusts. First, Police works closely with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, financial institutions, and foreign law enforcement agencies including Interpol to share fraud-related intelligence and best practices. A framework is in place for local financial institutions to detect, monitor and report suspicious transactions. Under Section 39 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and other Serious Crimes Act (CDSA), it is mandatory for a person to make a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) if he has reason to suspect that any property is connected to criminal conduct, and if such suspicion arose in the course of his trade, profession, business or employment.
The second thrust is public education. Police actively engages industry stakeholders, including the media, financial institutions and remittance companies, online merchants and grassroots organizations to apprise them of common online scam scenarios and educate them on crime prevention methods. Police also puts out crime prevention advice on common scams through the Media, using SMS messages and through websites of the Commercial Affairs Department (http://www.cad.gov.sg) and Moneysense websites (http://www.moneysense.gov.sg). Crimewatch has also alerted Singaporeans not to be fooled by these scams.
Third, we have put in place a robust legal framework to punish online scammers and deter other like-minded persons. Online scams constitute cheating offences and are punishable under the Penal Code with imprisonment terms of up to 3 years or 7 years. An individual who knowingly facilitates online scams by allowing syndicates to use his bank account to receive proceeds of criminal conduct is also guilty of an offence under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and other Serious Crimes Act (CDSA).
The key to tackling this scourge in the longer term is that the public should remain vigilant. They should not let their desire for quick gain get the better of them. Please do not fall prey to online cheating scams as their promises of riches or easy money are illusory. The public should also not allow their bank accounts or personal details to be used by online scammers. Any attempt by such scammers to elicit money or to use your bank accounts should be reported to the Police.
Posted by totingbunye
We have all heard of horror stories of people being divested of their savings by fraudulent individuals or groups. While we have the law enforcement organizations on our side, it still pays to be careful. Fraud has been defined as an act, expression, omission or concealment that deceives another to the fraudster's advantage. Scams, on the other hand, are deceitful business schemes aimed at misleading, swindling or victimizing a person or group with the goal of financial gain.
For the public's guidance, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has identified the common types of frauds and scams. Text Scams involve unscrupulous persons who use fictitious names and pretend to be government officials. They send fraudulent text messages to their victims, informing them that their mobile phone numbers won in a raffle allegedly sponsored by a government institution.
A sample text message would look like this: ''CONGRATULATIONS! D' LST 7 DIGITS of ur sim# had WON ELECTRONIC JACKPOT PRIZE from PAGCOR PHIL and CENTRAL BANK DTI # 2678 2007 call Atty. Juan de la Cruz.'' To claim the prize, intended victims are instructed by the scammers to transmit money through a designated bank account or remittance company to pay for the supposed taxes or remittance fees involved. In many situations, the scammers also ask their victims to send prepaid cell phone load to the scammers' prepaid mobile phone number. Nigerian Scams entail e-mails, fax transmittals or letters from a person or group claiming to haveaccess to a very large sum of money.
The scammers promise the victim a hefty percentage of this money in exchange for the use of the latter's bank account to transfer the funds.
The people behind Nigerian scams then ask the intended victim to furnish them with his bank account information. With this information, the scammers are able to access and draw against the victim's account.
Through the Job Scam Online, a prospective victim receives a job offer abroad from someone allegedly representing an agency or an employer. The ''employer'' usually demands for a placement fee to be transferred to his account to facilitate the job application process.
Individuals who use Phishing scams send official-looking e-mails from the victim's bank. They ask for information such as PIN and account numbers, log-in IDs, passwords and other verifiable information that can be exploited for fraudulent purposes.
Fraudsters specializing in Identity Theft obtain the information they need to assume the victim's identity through theft by going through your trash or getting your credit or bank information.
This personal information gives the fraudster the power to create a financial transaction such as a credit, deposit or other financial account in the victim's name.
Credit Card Skimming involves the unauthorized duplication of a victim's credit card details. It entails an employee of a shop, such as a restaurant or a gasoline station, putting a credit card into an electronic skimming device which copies the information printed on the card.
This stolen information is then used to manufacture counterfeit credit cards.
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