The Police have arrested two men, aged 56 and 32 for their suspected involvement in banking-related malware cases.
Between June and September 2023, the Police received multiple reports on banking-related malware cases, which typically involved unauthorised transactions from victims’ bank accounts even though they did not divulge their one-time passwords (OTP) to anyone.
On 4 and 5 October 2023, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department conducted an enforcement operation at the residential units of both men, leading to the arrests. An array of items, including cash amounting to more than S$25,000, 15 luxury watches, gold comprising of 34 bars, seven coins, three rings and one pendant; electronic devices comprising of an iPad and five handphones; and cryptocurrencies amounting to more than S$240,000, were seized during the operation. Six bank accounts with a total balance of about S$112,500 were also frozen to prevent further misuse.
The two men will be charged in court on 6 October 2023 for the offence of acquiring property that they had reasonable grounds to believe directly represents other person’s benefits from criminal conduct, punishable under section 54(5) of the CDSA 1992. If convicted, the offence carries an imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.
Members of the public are advised against downloading applications from third party or dubious sites that can lead to malware installed into victims’ mobile phones, computers, and other Information Communications Technology (ICT) devices. Such malware has resulted in confidential and sensitive data, such as banking credentials, being stolen. To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should reject requests by others to use your bank account or mobile lines, as you will be held accountable if these are found to be linked to unlawful activities.
The Police will continue to take tough enforcement action against those involved in perpetrating banking-related malware cases and will ensure that they face the full brunt of the law.