SINGAPORE: A company finance director almost lost over US$499,000 (S$672,000) last month in a business-related impersonation scam involving deepfake technology.
The amount was successfully traced and withheld by the Singapore Police Force's (SPF) Anti-Scam Centre, with assistance from its Hong Kong counterpart on Mar 28, said SPF in a news release on Monday (Apr 7).
This underscores the importance of international cooperation in tackling sophisticated cross-border scam operations, the police added.
The victim - an employee of a multinational corporation - was contacted via WhatsApp on Mar 24 by a scammer impersonating the company’s chief financial officer.
He was told to participate in a video conference regarding the supposed restructuring of the firm’s regional business, as well as to link up with an executive partner of a law firm.
He then received a call from the purported lawyer who "told him the importance of the project and the need for confidentiality".
"The victim was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement," the police said.
On Mar 25, the victim was told that the video conference was rescheduled to that day itself.
He joined the Zoom video call with someone he thought was the company’s chief executive officer, among others. These were impersonators using deepfake technology, the police said.
Such technology allows content to be digitally manipulated to look or sound like someone else.
"Through the video conference and subsequent correspondence with the lawyer-impersonator, the victim was instructed to perform a transaction of over US$499,000 from the company’s HSBC bank account to another local corporate bank account."
That transfer was done on Mar 26.
The finance director did not know that the account the money was transferred to was a money mule account under the control of the scammers, added the police.
Funds amounting to over US$494,000 were transferred out of the country and into Hong Kong bank accounts.
The victim only became aware of the scam on Mar 27, when the scammer asked for an additional US$1.4 million to be transferred.
He alerted HSBC, which immediately notified SPF's Anti-Scam Centre, the police said.
Acting on information provided by HSBC, the Anti-Scam Centre established the destination of the scam proceeds and sought the help of its Hong Kong counterpart to recover the funds, the police added.
Hong Kong's Anti-Deception Coordination Centre successfully withheld the full amount that had been transferred into the Hong Kong bank accounts.
Singapore's Anti-Scam Centre also seized the remaining amount of over US$5,000 in the local mule account.
Investigations into the case are ongoing.
SPF said the case "underscores the importance of public-private partnership and international cooperation".
It added that the establishment of FRONTIER+ in October 2024 was "essential to bolster international cooperation and combat the growing threat of scams".
FRONTIER+ is an initiative comprising anti-scam centres from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives, South Korea and Australia.
"Through coordinated efforts and shared resources, this initiative strengthens the region's capability to combat sophisticated cross-border scam operations and recover illicitly transferred funds," the police said.
Businesses are advised to establish protocols for employees to verify the authenticity of any video calls or messages, the police said.
They are also advised to be mindful of sudden fund transfer instructions and to verify them.
Businesses should call their bank if they suspect they have fallen victim to a scam, the police added.
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The amount was successfully traced and withheld by the Singapore Police Force's (SPF) Anti-Scam Centre, with assistance from its Hong Kong counterpart on Mar 28, said SPF in a news release on Monday (Apr 7).
This underscores the importance of international cooperation in tackling sophisticated cross-border scam operations, the police added.
THE SCAM
The victim - an employee of a multinational corporation - was contacted via WhatsApp on Mar 24 by a scammer impersonating the company’s chief financial officer.
He was told to participate in a video conference regarding the supposed restructuring of the firm’s regional business, as well as to link up with an executive partner of a law firm.
He then received a call from the purported lawyer who "told him the importance of the project and the need for confidentiality".
"The victim was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement," the police said.
On Mar 25, the victim was told that the video conference was rescheduled to that day itself.
He joined the Zoom video call with someone he thought was the company’s chief executive officer, among others. These were impersonators using deepfake technology, the police said.
Such technology allows content to be digitally manipulated to look or sound like someone else.
"Through the video conference and subsequent correspondence with the lawyer-impersonator, the victim was instructed to perform a transaction of over US$499,000 from the company’s HSBC bank account to another local corporate bank account."
That transfer was done on Mar 26.
The finance director did not know that the account the money was transferred to was a money mule account under the control of the scammers, added the police.
Funds amounting to over US$494,000 were transferred out of the country and into Hong Kong bank accounts.
The victim only became aware of the scam on Mar 27, when the scammer asked for an additional US$1.4 million to be transferred.
He alerted HSBC, which immediately notified SPF's Anti-Scam Centre, the police said.
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Acting on information provided by HSBC, the Anti-Scam Centre established the destination of the scam proceeds and sought the help of its Hong Kong counterpart to recover the funds, the police added.
Hong Kong's Anti-Deception Coordination Centre successfully withheld the full amount that had been transferred into the Hong Kong bank accounts.
Singapore's Anti-Scam Centre also seized the remaining amount of over US$5,000 in the local mule account.
Investigations into the case are ongoing.
SPF said the case "underscores the importance of public-private partnership and international cooperation".
It added that the establishment of FRONTIER+ in October 2024 was "essential to bolster international cooperation and combat the growing threat of scams".
FRONTIER+ is an initiative comprising anti-scam centres from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives, South Korea and Australia.
"Through coordinated efforts and shared resources, this initiative strengthens the region's capability to combat sophisticated cross-border scam operations and recover illicitly transferred funds," the police said.
Businesses are advised to establish protocols for employees to verify the authenticity of any video calls or messages, the police said.
They are also advised to be mindful of sudden fund transfer instructions and to verify them.
Businesses should call their bank if they suspect they have fallen victim to a scam, the police added.
Continue reading...