A 68-year-old man was charged in court on 10 June 2022 for allegedly conspiring with an unknown person to deceive three local banks into opening bank accounts for him, on the belief that the bank accounts would be used by him.
The man was also charged for allegedly abetting the unknown person to secure unauthorised access to the banks’ computer systems when he provided them with the Personal Identification Number (PIN) of ATM cards. The bank accounts were used by criminals to launder proceeds of crime derived from three reported cases of Internet Love Scams.
Three victims of Internet Love Scams had fallen in love with persons they met online on the social media platforms of Facebook and Instagram. Over time, the victims transferred a total amounting to S$20,300, at the request of their online lovers, for a variety of purposes. Some money was transferred purportedly to help ease cashflow problems; money was also transferred on the pretext of paying for fees needed to release parcels sent by their online lovers.
Police investigations revealed that the man had befriended an unknown person over the social media platform. At the request of the online persona, to help receive funds in Singapore for business purposes, the man allegedly cheated three local banks into opening the bank accounts in his name, by deceiving the banks into believing that he was the person using these bank accounts. The man then mailed the bank ATM cards to an address in Malaysia, and provided the PIN to the person he befriended online.
For conspiring to cheat the bank into opening the bank account, an act which is likely to cause harm to the reputation of the bank, the offence under Section 417 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code carries an imprisonment term not exceeding three years, a fine, or both.
For abetting persons to secure unauthorised access to a bank’s computer system for a first-time offender, the offence under Section 3(1) read with Section 10 and Section 11A of the Computer Misuse Act carries a fine not exceeding $5,000, an imprisonment term not exceeding two years, or both.
To avoid becoming involved in money laundering activities, members of the public should always reject requests to share the use of their banking facilities to receive and transfer funds, as well as guard against disclosing their SingPass login details which can be misused for many transactions.
If you receive or are asked to receive funds from unknown or dubious sources, please contact the Anti-Scam Helpline 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.