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SINGAPORE: The Singapore Police Anti-Scam Center (SPF) recovered S $ 6.6 million from an email scam, its largest recovery since the center was established in June last year.
Police said Thursday (October 8) that they were alerted by United Overseas Bank (UOB) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to an alleged money laundering case last Saturday.
A foreign bank had contacted the UOB to urgently withdraw US $ 5 million (S $ 6.79 million) which had been transferred to a Singapore-based UOB account belonging to a local company.
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Preliminary investigations found that the funds transfer was linked to an alleged commercial email engagement scam, police said. The account was frozen and a portion of the money was recovered.
Together with UOB, the Anti-Scam Center managed to track another fraction of the total amount and recalled a sum that had been transferred from the Singapore-based UOB account to a Malaysia-based UOB account.
In total, S $ 6.6 million, or about $ 4.91 million, was recovered, and police said they are still tracking the remaining amount.
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The Department of Business Affairs is also investigating the local company for its alleged involvement in the scam.
Police commended the UOB for its assistance, saying the collaboration attests to the importance of working together to combat scams and transnational fraud. They also advised the public and businesses to be vigilant and wary of business email compromise scams.
“Such scams involve misleading companies by spoofing the email addresses of companies or customers and causing them to transfer large amounts of money to the wrong hands,” police said.
