More than 300 suspicious bank accounts were frozen, and over S$1.8 million was seized in a joint operation between the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) and OCBC.

The operation, conducted from May to August 2024, targeted accounts allegedly involved in facilitating scam-related activities, particularly those opened by foreigners.

The Singapore Police Force had observed an increase in suspicious transactions involving these accounts, which were used to layer and obscure the origins of scam proceeds.

This activity hindered efforts to track and regulate the flow of funds, posing significant challenges for authorities in combating financial crimes.

In response, ASC and OCBC collaborated to utilise in-house data analytic models and network detection tools to identify and freeze accounts exhibiting potential money mule behavior.

This partnership led to the successful interception of funds believed to be linked to scam syndicates.

Authorities emphasized the seriousness of such crimes, warning the public against allowing their bank or Singpass accounts to be used for illicit purposes.

Investigations are ongoing into various offenses, including assisting in retaining criminal proceeds and unauthorized disclosure of access codes.

The penalties for these offenses include imprisonment and fines.

The police also urged the public to take precautionary measures, such as using the ScamShield app, enabling security features, and verifying the legitimacy of sellers before making payments.

For more information on scams or to report suspicious activity, the public is encouraged to visit www.scamalert.sg or contact the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688.

Beaver Chua, OCBC’s Head of Anti-Fraud, Group Financial Crime Compliance, said,

“We proactively monitor emerging financial crime typologies and continue to keep abreast of the latest developments, utilising technology to reinforce our existing processes and controls to detect and block suspicious transactions and accounts.

We are always committed to working closely with the Singapore Police Force and other ecosystem partners to fight scams, deter money mule activities, and prevent Singapore’s financial system from being abused by criminals.”