Man arrested for suspected involvement in OCBC phishing scams
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SINGAPORE: A 31-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in the recent scams targeting customers of OCBC Bank, by allegedly setting up a bank account to receive victims' money.
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In a media release on Monday (Jul 18), the police said they received a report on Dec 26 from a victim who lost more than S$100,000.
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Preliminary investigations showed that more than S$18,000 of the victimâs money was transferred to a UOB corporate bank account.
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âThe 31-year-old man had allegedly used his CorpPass credentials to open a corporate account for a locally incorporated company in November 2021,â the police said.
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âThe man then relinquished the bank account to an unknown person, allegedly for monetary benefits.â
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According to the police, the bank account was then used to facilitate several high-value transactions between Dec 20 and 27 last year. More than S$4 million passed through the bank account, they added.
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The man will be charged in court on Tuesday with entering an arrangement to assist another person to retain benefits from criminal conduct.
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If convicted, he could be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000, or both.
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At least 13 people have been arrested in relation to the OCBC Bank phishing scams, in which hundreds of victims lost a total of S$13.7 million last year. Several people were also charged with assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct.
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The bank said earlier this year that victims who fell prey to the scam had provided their online banking log-in credentials and one-time PINs to phishing websites, enabling scammers to take over their bank accounts and make fraudulent transactions.
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About 80 per cent of the amount was lost over the year-end festive period, it added.
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Andres, G. (2022, July 18). Man arrested for suspected involvement in OCBC phishing scams. CNA. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/ocbc-phishing-scam-man-arrested-set-bank-account-receive-money-2818376