According to the Singapore Police Force, two victims were almost cheated by “tech support” scammers but the illicit transactions were stopped by OCBC bank staff.
The police were notified in September 2021 to two victims, ages 51 and 74, who had nearly lost their life savings owing to such frauds.
Case No. 1
In the first instance, the victim was duped into believing that his home WiFi was being utilized for illegal purposes. Scammers directed him to put up a ‘trap’ for the crooks. The fraudsters persuaded the victim to install ‘Ultraviewer,’ a remote desktop program, on his laptop.
Following that, the fraudsters gained control of his laptop and attempted to withdraw funds from the victim’s OCBC bank account.
Case No. 2
Similarly, the second victim was told to download a file that would allow the fraudster remote access to his PC. When the fraudster asked for his OCBC online banking information, the second victim likewise provided it.
Fortunately, OCBC Bank staff intervene,  money transfers totaling more than $300,000 belonging to both victims were halted, and the fraudsters’ intentions to steal from both victims were foiled.
The bank’s Fraud Surveillance System flagged the two transactions as suspicious. When contacted by bank personnel to confirm the legitimacy of these transactions, both victims were still ignorant of the fraud.