SINGAPORE – Six individuals, aged between 20 and 35, appeared in the State Courts on November 4 to face charges in relation to a malware scam that defrauded nearly $8 million. The group is believed to have aided a criminal syndicate by opening bank accounts and providing account details to facilitate fraudulent money transfers.
The scam, which took place between September 2022 and May 2023, involved the use of malware to compromise victims’ mobile devices. Even without the victims’ consent or the divulging of their one-time passwords (OTPs), their bank accounts were exploited for unauthorized transactions.
Authorities launched an islandwide operation between June 13 and 14, 2023, resulting in the arrest of eight people involved in the scam. One of those arrested, Raphael Cher, 25, has already appeared in court and now faces 36 charges. He is suspected of acting as a middleman for the criminal syndicate and facilitating the recruitment of others to open bank accounts.
Among the new charges announced on November 4, Jolin Ng Ee Jun, 25, faces multiple charges for facilitating the transfer of criminal proceeds and abetting cheating. Investigations show she conspired with Cher to open bank accounts with major Singaporean banks, such as OCBC, UOB, and Standard Chartered, and passed on details to facilitate fraudulent activities.
Ng Kam Seng, 24, is also facing multiple charges, including two counts of abetting cheating and one for providing false information to the police. Investigations revealed that Ng had recruited individuals to open bank accounts, later used to facilitate illegal transactions.
Gladys Tan Choo Peng, 35, was charged for abetting cheating and facilitating criminal proceeds. She allegedly opened a UOB account and provided the necessary details to Cher for the scam’s operations.
In another case, Crystal Kwek Qian Er, 20, faces charges for allegedly relinquishing control of her UOB account to Cher, while Arellano Gian Paul Aquilon, 26, is charged for facilitating the transfer of $81,000 worth of illicit funds through his bank accounts.
Javier Tan Jia Wei, 25, who is the only one to have indicated a guilty plea, faces eight charges, including abetment of cheating, and will return to court in December. He is accused of facilitating the transfer of $61,845 of criminal proceeds through his accounts.
The police continue to investigate these cases and have warned the public against downloading suspicious Android Package Kits (APKs) from untrusted sources, as they were the primary method used to infect victims’ devices in this scam.
As of September 2023, Singaporean authorities have reported at least nine cases of malware scams, resulting in losses of around $223,000. According to annual statistics, over 1,890 malware scams were reported in 2023, with losses amounting to $34.1 million.
The police continue their efforts to combat such scams and encourage vigilance when it comes to online security.
