Beware & Protect Yourself 07 (Jun 23 - Jan 24)

[winston]

S$8m malware scams: 5 people aged 16 to 28 to be charged with giving Singpass, bank accounts for proceeds laundering

by Sufiyan Samsuri

Nine of these malware-related scams involved Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings and bank accounts with losses amounting to at least S$335,000.

Five people will be charged on Wednesday (July 12) for their suspected involvement in money laundering activities linked to banking-related phishing scams

The five — four men aged 16 to 28 and a 20-year-old woman — had allegedly given Singpass and bank accounts to scam syndicates to launder the proceeds

The police said that they have received more than 700 reports of malware-related scams between January and June this year with losses totalling S$8 million

The police arrested the five persons after receiving several reports informing that malware was used to compromise Android mobile devices

Source: TODAY

https://www.singaporelawwatch.sg/Headli ... laundering

[winston]

Over 7,000 love scams reported since 2018, mostly female victims

By FARIK ZOLKEPLI

A total of 7,548 love scam cases had been reported from 2018 until June this year with losses reaching RM382mil.

Some 82.8% or 6,257 cases involved female victims. It might be because the victims were single women while male victims might not be so inclined to lodge reports for various reasons.

Advanced technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) could be misused by irresponsible parties to conduct online scams.

"Before this, scams might have been limited to only texts and photos but AI technology can be used to appear more convincing.

Source: The Star

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/ ... le-victims

[winston]

Singaporean says hotel blunder led to his arrest at Bangkok airport for room theft

Source: The Star

https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/as ... room-theft

[winston]

Despite changing credit card thrice, S’pore doc was charged six times without her knowledge

By ANG QING

Merchants can choose not to activate 3D Secure authentication, an additional safety feature that requires customers to enter a password associated with the card or code sent to their phone on their bank’s website before a payment can be made.

How to prevent fraudulent charges

1. Consider using an identity theft protection service to monitor your accounts and provide reimbursement options following an identity theft.

2. Set up transaction alerts for amounts as low as 1sen on your bank’s app.

3. Regularly check your card statements. If you see any discrepancies or receive SMS/push/e-mail notifications for transactions that you did not make, notify the bank immediately or within seven days upon receiving your cards’ statement.

4. If aware of an unauthorised transaction, promptly alert your bank.

5. You can also temporarily lock your cards using your banking apps. Banks will review the case if there are grounds for dispute and help you in raising a dispute report to Visa or Mastercard.

Source: Straits Times

https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-ne ... -knowledge

[winston]

JB senior citizen loses over RM300,000 to scammers

By VENESA DEVI

The 71-year-old woman received a text message where she was informed that a transaction has been made using her credit card.

"She then called the number in the text message and was connected to a suspect impersonating a police officer.

"The victim then provided her bank account login details and later found that RM110,000 of the money in the account was missing," he said.

Between July 13 and 14, the victim made five transactions amounting to RM202,800 to two bank accounts.

Source: The Star

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/ ... o-scammers

[winston]

JB woman loses over RM670,000 in share investment scam

By VENESA DEVI

A 42-year-old woman has lost more than RM670,000 after falling for an investment scam.

The woman came across a post on Facebook offering an opportunity to invest in Bursa Malaysia.

She was promised returns of RM28,000 a month by scammers.

"Between May 30 and July 11, the victim made a total of 14 transactions amounting to RM672,491 to four different bank accounts.

Source: The Star

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/ ... tment-scam

[winston]

Ipoh businessman cheated of RM870,000 in crypto scam

A 54-year-old businessman in Kerian has lost RM870,000 in a cryptocurrency investment scam.

The victim initially invested RM500 and doubled his money, which he received.

"The suspect then told the victim to invest a larger amount to get more profit.

"He then made several transactions to three different accounts amounting to RM870,000 and was promised a profit of about RM1.5mil".

When the victim started asking about withdrawals, the woman started making excuses.

He said the suspect also told the victim to pay a 30% processing fee.

Source: The Star

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/ ... rypto-scam

[winston]

Two couples lose over half a million ringgit with house renovations uncompleted

By BAVANI M

TWO couples from Selangor have lost about RM540,000 in total after the contractor they hired to renovate their houses failed to complete their work.

Source: The Star

https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro- ... ncompleted

[winston]

NEARLY 60 SINGAPOREANS FELL VICTIM TO MALAYSIA-BASED JOB SCAM SYNDICATE

The syndicate offered non-existent jobs in Singapore.

A total of 59 Singaporeans fell victim to the scam. But the syndicate did not target any Malaysians or use any local bank accounts.

The job scam syndicate was believed to have been active for the past two months, causing SGD 2.9 million (USD 2.2 million) in losses.

Source: CHANNEL NEWS ASIA

https://www2.staffingindustry.com/row/E ... Asia-66157

[winston]

RM64,000 lost to ‘AI investment scheme’

By YEE XIANG YUN

Source: The Star

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/ ... e=smartech