How Malware takes remote control of your HP after you download 3rd party apps
Update 29 Dec 2023: DEEPFAKE VIDEO OF PM LEE PROMOTING SOME INVESTMENT SCAMS
Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong appears to be promoting a crypto-trading video on the Beijing-based news outlet China Global Television Network (CGTN). Yes, PM Lee seems to be discussing the benefits of a hands-free crypto trading platform, which boasts the ability to compute algorithms, analyse market trends, make strategic investment decisions, and execute trades—all autonomously, without any manual input from the user.
On 29 Dec, PM Lee shared a recent deepfake video that has been circulating online. Elaborating on the type of scam involved, PM Lee explained that scammers employ AI (artificial intelligence) technology to mimic our voices and images. They transform real footage of us, taken from official events, into very convincing but entirely bogus videos of us purportedly saying things we have never said. PM Lee urged people not to respond to such scam videos, which promise guaranteed returns on investments.
DEEPFAKE VIDEO OF DPM LAWRENCE WONG SELLING SOME INVESTMENT SCAM
Deepfakes are media that have been altered by AI to look or sound like someone. In the video, DPM Wong’s mouth is altered to synchronise with a fake voiceover that sounds like him. Yes, the voiceover mimics the pitch and intonation of DPM Wong’s actual voice. Don’t believe me? You can watch the deepfake video here.
Notably, the video was made from modified footage of DPM Wong giving an interview recorded by The Straits Times. The deepfake video promotes an investment scam, even using terms reminiscent of a DPM speech, like “my dear Singaporeans”.
Spate of Online Scams
Ms Jacqueline Khoo, 58, lost $44,487 from two credit card accounts and three bank savings accounts from POSB in a few hours after she clicked on a link to download a third-party app, following which scammers then increased her credit limits and siphoned out her money. Ms Khoo had chanced upon a Facebook advertisement for grouper fillets from a seafood supplier called “Fresh Market TGS” on Aug 25.
She was attracted by a deal that offered $10 grouper fillet with free shipping and contacted the seller on Facebook. “Although I never bought anything from Facebook before, I had previously bought fish and pork from Shopee and Qoo10. I was not suspicious of the ad and it never occurred to me that this was a scam,” she told The Straits Times.
355 people under investigation over scams that cost victims more than $5m
The cases were mainly investment, job, e-commerce, internet love & government official impersonation scams. FOTO: ST
A total of 355 people are being investigated for their suspected involvement in scams – as scammers or money mules – which led to victims losing more than $5 million, the police said on Friday.
They added that the suspects, aged between 16 and 78, are believed to be involved in more than 918 scam cases.
The cases were mainly investment scams, job scams, e-commerce scams, Internet love scams and government official impersonation scams.
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13-year-old among 457 people probed for links to scam cases involving over $11.5m
A 13-year-old was among 316 men and 141 women hauled in by the police as suspected scammers and money mules linked to more than 1,500 cases of scams that saw victims lose over $11.5 million.
The oldest among the 457 being investigated is a 73-year-old.
The suspects are being investigated for their roles in Internet love scams, e-commerce scams, phishing scams, China officials impersonation scams, investment scams, job scams, tech support scams and loan scams.
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Retired reporter scammed out of $3 million, forced to sell properties to pay loan sharks
The scammers got a "police officer" to hand Madam Poon Sing Wah documentation (above) of her “crimes”. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Scammed out of $3 million, a woman in Singapore had to sell two of her properties to pay off her ensuing debts with loan sharks.
Speaking to Lianhe Zaobao, retiree Poon Sing Wah, 74, said she was cheated of her hard-earned money in 2019 by people claiming to be Chinese officials.
Madam Poon, who is a former Zaobao reporter, said she received a call from a man posing as an employee from courier company DHL. He claimed Madam Poon had sent several forged passports to Beijing that were detained at Customs.
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Retiree scammed of $3 million, forced to sell 2 properties to pay loanshark debt
Poon (above) found out she was left with just 0.76 yuan in her bank account. PHOTO: Screengrab from Lianhe Zaobao
She was swindled of $3 million and had to resort to borrowing from loansharks as well as selling two of her properties to pay off her debt.
In a Lianhe Zaobao report today (Jan 11), the 74-year-old retiree, Poon Sing Wah, recounted how she was cheated of her hard-earned money back in 2019.
According to Poon, a former Zaobao reporter, the caller had pretended to be an employee from courier company DHL, indicating that Poon had sent several forged passports to Beijing which were being detained at customs.
Life savings wiped out in days: 75-year-old lost S$1 million to China official impersonation scam
When 75-year-old Madam Fong (not her real name) picked up a call from an overseas number last December, she did not imagine that she would end up losing an eye-watering S$1 million to an elaborate scam.
The caller claimed that her name was being used in China for money laundering.
“They asked me to cooperate with them … so I agreed,” said the retiree.
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Mother-of-three divorced husband, lost more than $200,000 in love scam
Over three months, police officers tried to convince the woman that she was a victim of a love scam. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: ST FILE
A mother of three was so in love with a man she met online that she surrendered more than $200,000 worth of her insurance policies and divorced her husband.
The 40-year-old woman believed her lover, who claimed to be a military doctor from the United States, needed the funds to pay his hospital bills after being shot by terrorists while on a mission in South Sudan.
Her husband discovered the affair and reported the money transfers to the police. But even when police officers told her she was being scammed, she refused to believe them until it was too late.
$22 service to $20k scam: Woman loses savings after giving credit card details to 'cleaning company'
Ye lost a total of $21,000 when she tried to engage a cleaning company for their services.
Shin Min Daily News
If something seems too good to be true, chances are it probably is.
While looking for a house cleaning service online, one woman thought she found a pretty good deal.
The woman surnamed Ye, told Shin Min Daily News that she saw an advertisement from a cleaning company on Facebook on Nov 11, which offered a four-hour cleaning session every fortnight for a mere $22.
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Man allegedly linked to govt officials impersonation scam charged with money laundering
Police seized $6,700 in cash drawn from numerous automated teller machines in Singapore. ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM
A man allegedly linked to a government officials impersonation scam involving nearly $100,000 in losses was charged with money laundering on Friday.
Lim Shao Lun, 31, is accused of transferring the benefits of criminal conduct.
He is said to have withdrawn at least $160,000 from a bank account in Singapore and, in doing so, facilitated the “control of benefits of criminal conduct”.
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Jail for repeat offender who cheated 3 victims of over $250k in investment scams
A recalcitrant offender committed investment scams and cheated three people of more than $200,000 in total, shortly after completing a jail sentence for similar crimes.
The prosecution said that Muhammad Farhan Zamali, who was given 16 months’ jail in August 2018, returned to his old ways within about a year of his release from prison.
He cheated his latest victims in 2020 and 2021.
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Jail for man linked to scam where retiree’s life savings of $1m were transferred to other bank accounts
A man has been sentenced to jail as he is linked to a scam that saw a retiree losing $1 million in life savings after the money was transferred to other bank accounts without her knowledge.
Court documents did not state if Dickson Jong Chee Siang was part of the group that scammed the 75-year-old retiree.
The Malaysian had instead recruited a man whose bank account was used to receive about $250,000 of the victim’s money.
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9 months’ jail for man who sold his bank account, which was later used in scams
Despite knowing that selling bank accounts is illegal in Singapore, a man sold his account, which was later used to receive more than $138,000 from scam victims.
Chinese national Zhang Demin, 33, was on Tuesday sentenced to nine months’ jail after pleading guilty to one charge under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.
When Zhang came to Singapore in September 2021 to work, he opened a bank account here. Less than two months into the job, he needed to return to China because his father was sick.
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Jail for man linked to case where elderly woman was scammed of S$1 million in CPF savings
A man linked to the case of a 75-year-old retiree who lost S$1 million from her Central Provident Fund in life savings was sentenced on Thursday (Jan 12).
Dickson Jong Chee Siang, 29, was handed nine months' jail for his role in opening bank accounts for scammers' use and roping in another party whose account was used to funnel the retiree's cash.
Jong, a Malaysian, pleaded guilty to two counts of cheating and one count of abetting unauthorised access to computer material. Another three charges were considered in sentencing.
M'sian man, 29, poses as Chinese official to scam S'pore woman, 75, of S$1 million from CPF
Between December 2021 and February 2022, a man impersonated an official from the “Chinese Judicial Investigation Department” and scammed a 75-year-old woman in Singapore of S$1 million dollars.
He had spoken to the victim via video calls and managed to obtain her one-time-passwords (OTPs) sent to her via SingPass and United Overseas Bank (UOB). He then transferred the victim's life savings from her Central Provident Fund (CPF) account to her UOB account, before distributing the funds to various other bank accounts.
Dickson Jong Chee Siang, 29, a Malaysian national, was sentenced to nine months' jail on Jan. 12, for two charges of cheating and one charge of abetment of unauthorised access to computer material.
Man allegedly linked to govt officials impersonation scam charged with money laundering
A man allegedly linked to a government officials impersonation scam involving nearly S$100,000 in losses was charged with money laundering on Jan 13.
He is said to have withdrawn at least S$160,000 from a bank account in Singapore and, in doing so, facilitated the “control of benefits of criminal conduct”.Lim allegedly committed the offence in December 2022. Details about the scam were not disclosed in court documents.
In a statement on Thursday evening, the police said that on Dec 7, officers received a report about the scam involving nearly S$100,000 in losses. The money was credited to a local bank account.
CALL FROM "STARHUB" INFORMED ME THAT I WON A LUCKY DRAW WHICH I DIDN'T PARTICIPATE!
I received a call from this +966 55 236 9019 with a name ‘Starhub Company’ telling me that I won $50,000 dollars. This guy was persuading me to get my money when I didn’t even join any lucky draw and I’m not even using postpaid for my sim card. I quickly end the call. Beware of SCAMS!
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How does ScamShield work?
The app filters incoming calls and text messages. ScamShield compares an incoming call against a list maintained by the Singapore Police Force to determine if the number has been used for illegal purposes and blocks it.
When you receive an incoming SMS from an unknown contact, ScamShield will determine if the SMS is a scam using an on-device algorithm. For iOS, it filters the messages to a junk SMS folder. For Android, a notification is sent to users to notify them that a scam message has been received.
Scam SMSes will be sent to NCPC and SPF for collation. This keeps the app updated and will help protect others from such scam calls and messages.
How can you act against scams? MHA outlines 3 steps you can take
The ACT acronym in the new campaign tagline outlines how members of the public can Add security features, Check for signs, and Tell the authorities and others about scams
What is ACT? ACT outlines three actions individuals should take to safeguard themselves and the community against scams:
- Add security features such as ScamShield and two-factor authentication for personal accounts. Also, set up transaction limits for Internet banking, to limit the amount of funds possibly lost in the event of a scam.
- Check for potential signs of a scam by asking questions, fact-checking requests for personal information and money transfers, and verifying the legitimacy of online listings and reviews. Take the time to pause and check. If it is too good to be true, it is probably untrue, and a scam.
- Tell the authorities and others about scam encounters by reporting to the bank, ScamShield, or by filing a police report. Tell others about ongoing scams and preventive steps they can take.
There were 14,349 scam cases reported in the first half of 2022, with a total of $346.5 million lost, of which $227.8 million was lost to the top 10 types of scams. Both the number of cases and total amount lost were more than half of the 23,931 cases reported and $633.3 million lost in the whole of 2021. The top 10 scams for the first half of 2022 were:
- Job
- Phishing
- E-commerce
- Investment
- Social media impersonation
- Fake friend call
- Loan
- Internet love
- Credit for sex
- Fake gambling platforms
The 'Free Wi-Fi' scam
A total of $346.5 million was lost to scams in the first half of 2022. PHOTO: ST FILE
Keying in your personal details to access free Wi-Fi at a cafe might sound harmless, but it could lead to a lifetime of regret.
Fraudsters can get their hands on such information – through hacking or buying it illegally – and claim to be from government agencies to manipulate people into handing over their life savings, said Assistant Professor Kang Hyunjin from Nanyang Technological University (NTU). She said: “Many victims don’t realise they are being cheated as they underestimate the lengths these swindlers will go to steal from them.”
5 common types of scams:
- E-commerce scam
- Investment scam
- Job scam
- China officials impersonation scam
- Internet love scam
Top 10 Scams in Singapore
New scam? Man pretends to be hit by car in Serangoon
What a dramatic accident — except that there was no collision involved. A man was caught on camera throwing himself out in front of an oncoming car and then falling onto the ground even though the vehicle did not hit him.
Several readers alerted Stomp to the video that has been circulating online since Wednesday (Sept 28). The incident reportedly occurred along Serangoon North Avenue 5 on Monday evening. In the video, the pedestrian is seen flinging himself onto the road in an exaggerated tumble.
The driver who captured the video, however, had honked and stopped in time while still some distance away from the man. She can be heard saying, "What are you doing?" It is unclear what the man replied but he continued to sit on the road. Many netizens called out the incident for being a "100 per cent insurance scam" and made sarcastic comments about the man's acting.
Protect yourself from fraud & scams
Failing to protect your digital privacy can lead to a host of issues, from identity theft to your accounts being hacked
In the age where every Google search inevitably results in customised ads showing up on your screen, and social media platforms suggest friends of friends to follow, it’s understandable why many people give up on digital privacy. After all, why bother when the Internet already knows so much about you (and all the cat videos you watch)?
In reality, we should all be doing our best to maintain our digital privacy. More than just having your embarrassing social media photos shared in public, a lack of digital privacy can have far-reaching consequences.
For example, password leaks and hacks can lead to your accounts being hijacked. Even if your passwords are safe, your identity may not be: If your full name and IC number are retrieved by a malicious actor, they can be used to apply for credit cards or loans, or even commit fraud at medical institutions. In some cases, the victim might not even be aware that their accounts or information have been compromised until they attempt to log in or are notified by the authorities.
Phishing and other SMS scams
New measures for digital banking are to be rolled out for banks in Singapore, after a recent spate of SMS phishing scams affected at least 469 of OCBC's customers
Banks in Singapore will be removing clickable links in emails or SMS messages sent to retail customers and set the threshold for funds transfer notifications to customers by default at S$100 or lower. These are part of several measures to protect account holders from phishing scams. The changes, announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) in a joint statement on Wednesday (Jan 19), will be implemented within the next two weeks.
The new measures came after at least 469 customers were affected by an SMS phishing scam targeting OCBC bank customers, with losses totalling at least S$8.5 million. The fraudsters had sent out fake bank alerts that spoofed the bank's official SMS channel, duping many of them into clicking on web links and giving up their personal account information last month. In the joint statement, MAS and ABS said that these measures will bolster the security of digital banking, given that it will lengthen the time taken for certain online banking transactions and also provide an added layer of security to protect customers’ funds.
Other measures that banks will be putting in place include:
- Delaying activation of a new soft token on a mobile device by at least 12 hours
- Sending notification to a customer's existing mobile number or email registered with the bank whenever there is a request to change a customer’s mobile number or email address
- Introducing a cooling-off period before executing requests to important account changes such as in a customer’s key contact details
- Having dedicated and well-resourced customer assistance teams to deal with feedback on potential fraud cases on a priority basis
- More frequent scam education alerts
Investment Scams
财叔投资到身上长满蜘蛛网了😥 Did Uncle Cai invest in spider webs? Why are they all over him?
#金刚媒体 #kingkongmediaproduction MoneySense
What Is Pig-Butchering Scam 杀猪盘
I want to raise awareness on the Pig-Butchering scam or Sha Zhu Pan in Chinese. So called because victims are patiently worked on every day for 1-3 months before scamming them big time, like fattening up a pig before slaughter. They have extremely well-planned operations and have really been successful in the Chinese-speaking world. Sha Zhu Pan scam has become one of the top Chinese buzzwords in 2019-2020.
Victims are scammed on average $24k, and millions in total have been lost. It's a huge cottage industry that Chinese police has had a hard time stamping out. There are scores of recent news stories, blogs, video clips, and other media online about Sha Zhu Pan victims and scammers. Sadly, almost all are in Chinese. I think the rest of the world has to wise up to this, because now as most Chinese are becoming aware of this Pig-Butchering Scam, the scammers are turning their skills more towards non-Chinese, more so this year.
This first half is somewhat detailed because since everyone is generally aware of romance scams, being vague won't convince someone who is in the thick of it and thinks that his/her online friend is THE exception. Exposing specific details of the Pig-Butchering scam is most convincing to current victims that the "spontaneous" events are actually planned.
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