The Police and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) have observed a sudden surge in phishing scams where scammers would impersonate as IRAS and target victims through SMSes. Since July 2022, at least 51 victims had fallen prey, with total losses amounting to at least $37,400.

The scam occurs in the following sequence:

1. Members of the public would receive unsolicited SMSes containing “IRAS” in the sender’s name. The recipients would be directed to urgently complete their tax review/inspection via an embedded link in the message.
   
2. Upon clicking on the link in the SMS, the victims would be sent to a spoofed Singpass login page, where they would be asked to enter their Singpass ID and password.
   
3. Thereafter, the victims would be redirected to another spoofed webpage which looks like an IRAS website, and finally to a spoofed bank login page.
   
4. The victims would then be requested to enter their Internet banking credentials and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) received on their mobile phones. Victims would only discover that they had been scammed when they were notified of unauthorised transactions made from their bank accounts.

While the authorities work swiftly to take down phishing websites, user vigilance is crucial in our fight against evolving scams. The Police and IRAS advise members of the public to be on heightened alert and to follow these crime prevention measures:

• IRAS does not send SMSes containing links asking you to log in with your credentials (i.e. passwords and Singpass log-in details);
  
• Always verify the authenticity of claims of problems with your income tax status with the official IRAS website;
  
• Ensure that the Singpass website domain you are accessing is singpass.gov.sg, with a ‘lock’ icon in the address bar. You may refer to the Annex for an example of the real Singpass log-in page;
  
• Users should make it a point to update their contact details registered with Singpass and enable notifications via their Singpass app so that they can be promptly alerted of suspicious log-ins, e.g. when a log-in on a new device or Internet browser is detected, and contact Singpass to secure their account;
  
• Log-ins to Government services should only be done at websites with domains ending with “.gov.sg”. If you received a link that does not end with “.gov.sg”, check against the list of trusted websites at www.gov.sg/trusted-sites;
  
• Never disclose your personal or Internet banking details and OTPs to anyone; and
  
• Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.

If you have any information relating to such crimes, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.  If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.

Having a maid at home is an additional help when there are children or the elderly at home but it seems that there are always a few bad apples within the basket.

A maid was caught slapping and hitting the head of a 101-year-old woman on CCTV and was eventually sentenced to jail.

According to CNA, 48-year-old Ngaisah, a maid from Indonesia pleaded guilty to two charges of voluntarily causing hurt and was sentenced to 8 weeks in jail.

Dementia

The victim who is at an old age suffers from dementia and could not communicate nor can she recognise her family members.

Ngaisah was responsible for taking care of the victim’s daily needs and they stayed together, one of the victim’s family members installed a CCTV in their home to monitor them.

Just a day after installing the CCTV, they managed to discover how the elderly woman was treated.

She was slapped by Ngaisah while feeding her food and the food was forcefully fed to the victim.

The victim who was in need of medication drank water to take her medication but as soon as the victim finished, Ngaisah took the cup and hit the head of the elderly woman.

The family member eventually brought the elderly woman to a hospital but she was unable to communicate due to her dementia. It eventually became a Police case.

According to Chapter 321 of the Penal Code, anyone who performs an act that causes hurt to a person is guilty of Voluntarily Causing Hurt.

 Upon conviction, offenders could face a jail term of up to 3 years and/or a fine of up to $5,000.

A second man, a 38-year-old Malaysian, has been arrested for allegedly helping the now-infamous luxury goods scammer couple flee from Singapore.

The 39-year-old Malaysian man was charged in court earlier today (30 July), according to the Singapore Police Force in a news release issued on Friday.

He had allegedly conspired with a lorry driver to help the couple, Singaporean Pi Jiapeng and Thai national Siriwipa Pansuk escape from Singapore on 4 July, according to police investigations.

The police said that the 38-year-old man was arrested in Malaysia on Friday, with “strong cooperation and assistance” from their Malaysian counterparts.

The couple had fled Singapore by hiding in the container compartment of a lorry, according to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.

The driver of the lorry, Mohamed Alias, was earlier charged on 22 July for allegedly driving his vehicle with the couple hiding inside on 4 July at about 7.25pm, helping them get through Tuas Checkpoint.

Interpol red notices and arrest warrants have also been issued against the couple, with more than 180 police reports made since June.

The couple is effectively wanted worldwide.

Previously arrested

26-year-old Pi Jiapeng, one-half of the infamous scammer couple, was previously arrested ohn 27 June for his suspected involvement in cheating offences.

He had his passport impounded and was released on bail on 29 June.

His girlfriend on the other hand, 27-year-old Siriwipa Pansuk, was also assisting the police with their investigations and she surrendered her passport to the police on 30 June.

Both of them then became uncontactable after that.

Three men, aged between 17 and 22, was charged in court on 29 July 2022 for their suspected involvement in money laundering activities.

Between July 2021 and February 2022, the three men had allegedly responded to a Telegram message to disclose their User IDs and Passwords of their Singpass accounts to unknown persons for monetary gains and for cheating banks into opening bank accounts.  These newly opened bank accounts were then given over to unknown persons to enable unauthorised access to the banks’ computer material. The Singpass accounts were used by criminals to open bank accounts online.

These compromised bank accounts were employed to launder proceeds of crime derived from various scams.  At least eight persons became victims in these scams, and a total of more than $500,000 were lost.

The three men are believed to have been promised amounts ranging from $200 to $2,000 each, in return for giving up their internet-banking login credentials and Singpass credentials to the unknown parties.

The offence of unauthorised disclosure of access code, under Section 8 of the Computer Misuse Act 1993, carries an imprisonment term of up to three years and fined up to $10,000, or both, for first-time offenders.  For repeat offenders, the imprisonment term can go up to five years and fined up to $20,000, or both.

The offence of unauthorised access to computer material under Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 an imprisonment term not exceeding two years and fined up to $5,000, or both. For repeat offenders, the imprisonment term can go up to three years and fined up to $10,000, or both.

The offence of Cheating under Section 417 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term of up to three years, or fine, or with both.

The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. To avoid being an accomplice in these crimes, members of the public should always reject seemingly attractive money-making opportunities promising fast and easy pay-outs for the use of their Singpass accounts, bank accounts or for allowing their personal accounts to be used to receive and transfer money for others. Remember that you will be held accountable if these are linked to crimes.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.

All information will be kept strictly confidential.