More than 110 suspicious bank accounts with over $400k blocked by UOB or seized by police

SINGAPORE - More than 110 suspicious bank accounts with over $400,000 were blocked by UOB or seized by the police in a joint operation targeting money mules.

The operation was conducted by the bank and officers from the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) from June 17 to 24, the police said in a statement on June 27. The bank accounts were allegedly used to facilitate scam-related activities.

The police said UOB used its data analytic models and network detection capabilities to identify suspicious transactions and bank accounts that behaved like potential money mules.

ASC officers then worked with the bank to identify account holders whose accounts were suspected to have been used for money laundering activities, they added.

More than 40 UOB bank accounts containing over $210,000 were seized by the police for investigations or blocked by UOB.

The police also conducted islandwide raids and investigated 10 suspects, aged between 24 and 65, who may have relinquished their bank accounts to scammers.

Following the raids, the police said a 40-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman were arrested.

Preliminary investigations showed they had allegedly facilitated scams by selling their internet banking credentials and handing over ATM cards to scammers for a commission of about $300, according to police.

They allegedly relinquished internet banking credentials to scammers to receive profits from a fake investment scheme as well, police added.

Through the joint operation and information sharing, UOB also identified and blocked an additional 74 bank accounts with money laundering concerns and withheld more than $195,000 in tainted funds.

The police said investigations are under way into various offences.

The offence of assisting another to retain benefits of criminal conduct carries a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to $50,000, or both.

The offence of unauthorised disclosure of access code carries a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

The police advised the public to download the ScamShield app on their mobile devices and enable security features, such as two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication, for banks, social media and Singpass accounts, as well as transaction limits for internet banking transactions.

The police urged the public to make purchases only from authorised sellers or reputable sources, and be wary of attractive, time-sensitive deals.

They should also check sellers’ customer reviews and ratings.

They are also advised to avoid making upfront payments to bank accounts belonging to unknown individuals and, whenever possible, avoid making advance payments or direct bank transfers to sellers.

Those with information relating to such crimes can call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or visit www.police.gov.sg/iwitness

For more information on scams, visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688.