Suhaimi Jaffar and Mohammad Afiq Ishak [Certified Dishonest]

[greentara]

Two money mules jailed in DHL parcel scam involving 348 victims who lost more than $19m
Amir Hussain | Thursday, Oct 20, 2016

SINGAPORE - Two Malaysian men were on Wednesday (Oct 19) given jail terms for their involvement in a parcel scam, which has seen 348 victims lose more than $19 million as of end-August.

Suhaimi Jaffar, 36, was jailed for 20 months, while Mohammad Afiq Ishak, 24, was jailed for 18 months.

They had opened bank accounts in Singapore for the sole purpose of receiving money from victims of a syndicate, which is responsible for running a scam commonly referred to as the "DHL parcel scam".

Both men pleaded guilty to one charge each under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

Suhaimi and Afiq are the first two men involved in the scam to be sentenced. The cases for 10 other people are at the pre-trial stage.

A district court heard that the syndicate responsible for running the scam was transnational, with a network of operators and runners in Malaysia.

"Typically, the victims would be told that the People's Republic of China police had intercepted a parcel that they had sent and that it contained illegal items," said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Leong Wing Tuck.

"The victims would then be threatened with reprisals unless they were prepared to resolve the issue by handing over their bank account details and passwords, on the pretext that it was required to verify their identity.

"Little did these victims realise that these fraudsters would gain access to their bank accounts and make unauthorised electronic transfers to another bank account, while simultaneously arranging to have these fraudulent gains withdrawn as soon as the electronic transfer was completed," added DPP Leong.

The syndicate's operators also impersonated police officers.

    In an incident which happened at about 10am on July 25, a 37-year-old female Chinese national living in Singapore got a call from an unknown caller who claimed to be a policeman in China. He said a parcel she had sent to China had illegal goods and demanded that she reveal her Internet banking details.
    However, the woman later realised that $32,600 had been transferred from her DBS account into Suhaimi's UOB account, which was opened on July 22. She made a police report at about 7.10pm that day.
    A day earlier, at about 3pm on July 24, a 35-year-old female Myanmar national and Singapore permanent resident also got a call from an unknown woman, who claimed that her bank accounts had been used for money laundering in relation to drug trafficking.
    The caller transferred the call to one "Inspector Feng" from "Beijing Interpol" and the bogus cop directed the victim to transfer all her money from her DBS account to her OCBC account.
    The next day, he asked for her internet banking details and a copy of her NRIC with her photo. Shortly after, transfers of $13,700 and $11,700 were made from the victim's OCBC account to Suhaimi's UOB account. She made a police report on July 27.

Suhaimi was arrested at the UOB branch at Woodlands Civic Centre on July 25, after police were notified by staff of his suspicious behaviour. He was trying to withdraw money from his account.

The syndicate's operators also impersonated Singapore policemen, the court heard.

    On July 27, a 32-year-old female Chinese national residing in Singapore got a local phone call from an unknown person who claimed to be an officer from the Singapore Police Force. The caller claimed the woman was being investigated for global money laundering activities and said he would be transferring the call to a police officer from China.
    An unknown person then claimed to be from the "China Police Force" and asked the victim to enter her personal particulars and internet banking details into a website, which purported to be that of "Beijing Interpol".
    Shortly after, $19,900 was transferred from her DBS account into Afiq's UOB account, which had been opened on July 22. She made a police report at about 9.20pm that day.
    A day earlier, at about 4.15pm on July 26, a 53-year-old male Chinese national residing in Singapore got a call from an unknown person claiming to be a policeman from the Singapore Police Force.
    The caller transferred the line to another person who claimed to be from the China Police Force, and the bogus cop said someone had been arrested in China for dealing in "black money" and the victim's particulars had been found on him.
    The caller threatened to report the matter to Singapore police and demanded that the victim withdraw all his money from his UOB account and put it into a new bank account. The victim opened a POSB savings account with internet banking facilities the same day.
    The next day, on July 27, he got a call from the same bogus cop who asked for his internet banking details for the purported purposes of investigation. Shortly after, $26,000 was transferred from the victim's bank account into Afiq's bank account.

Afiq was arrested at the UOB branch at Thomson on July 25, after police were notified by staff of his suspicious behaviour. He was trying to withdraw money from his account and admitted to bank staff that he was withdrawing cash on someone else's instructions.

In these four cases, the money was recovered and will be returned to the victims.

In seeking for deterrent sentences for both Suhaimi and Afiq, DPP Leong said: " Both cases involved transnatioanl syndicate with a network of operators and runners in Malaysia. The network is sophisticated with multiple operatives."

"Both accused were promised financial rewards for their involvement in the syndicate. Afiq was promised the sum of 4,000 ringgit, while Suhaimi was promised the availability of an indeterminate loan to clear his debts.

"The substantial financial rewards were their motivations to be part of the elaborate operations to obtain the illegal funds freshly deposited into their newly opened bank accounts and the subsequent quick removal," added DPP Leong.

Suhaimi and Afiq could have each been fined up to $500,000 and/or jailed for up to 10 years for their crimes.

Source: http://news.asiaone.com/news/crime/two-money-mules-jailed-dhl-parcel-scam-involving-348-victims-who-lost-more-19m

[ainat]

Crimewatch 2022 EP2 | China INTERPOL Officials Impersonation Scam to swindle a woman of S$200,000




Hello?

Hello, this is the National Crime
Prevention Council Anti-Scam Helpline.

-How can I help you?
-Hello?

I just received a call
from China Interpol.

I really don't know what to do.
Can you help me?

Madam, please stay calm
and tell me what happened.

Madam, we have a case of
a China official impersonation scam.

The victim is Selene Moh, she's a director
at a pharmaceutical company.

Initial checks show that
she has no prior records.

So what did the scammer say to her?

The scammer called himself Officer Lin
and claimed to be from China Interpol.

Have you run checks
on Officer Lin's phone number?

It's a foreign number,
so it cannot be traced.

And the scammer could have
spoofed the number,

so it may not even be genuine
in the first place.

What did the scammer want?

He told the victim
to get $200,000 ready

and hand that over
to a China Interpol officer

to assist them in apprehending
the 'real' criminal.

So the victim hasn't handed over
the money yet?

Not yet.

-And the handover is in person?
-Yes.

Where's the victim now?

The victim is at home
waiting for Officer Lin to contact her

with instructions for the handover.

Sunny, get the assistance of two teams
as back-up

-and brief them on the case.
-Yes, madam.

Devi, call the victim
and let her know we are on our way.

Yes, madam.

Hi, I'm Senior Investigation
Officer Paige Tan

from Commercial Affairs Department.

Are you Miss Selene Moh?

Yes. Come in...

Take a seat over there.

Is this really a scam?

Can you stop China Interpol
from arresting me?

Miss Moh, please believe me.

Firstly, overseas police agencies
have no jurisdiction in Singapore.

Secondly, there is no such thing
as China Interpol.

And most importantly,

this is not the first time
we have encountered a scam like this.

Luckily, I haven't handed
any money over yet.

Miss Moh, can you tell me...

what did Officer Lin
ask you to do specifically?

He asked me to prepare $200,000
and put that into an envelope,

then to be ready
to hand the money over

to an officer from China Interpol.

After that, he would call me
with more instructions.

But until now,
I have not done anything yet.

Miss Moh, we have a plan
for how to arrest this scammer

if we have your assistance.

How can I help?

We will create a decoy envelope,
using paper instead of real notes.

When the scammer calls again,

we need you to pretend
that you are following his instructions.

Then we need you to hand the envelope over
to the China Interpol officer.

At that point, we will arrest the person
who shows up.

Will I be safe?

Absolutely.

We will be with you
every step of the way.

Would you be able to help us?

Yes.

The scammer shouldn't
get away with this.

How far away are the reinforcements?

Five minutes more at least.

Here's what we'll do.

Team 1, you will proceed
to location A.

Team 2, location B.
Okay? Let's go.

Answer it
and put the call on speaker mode.

Hello?

Well done, Miss Moh.

Tell the teams that the op is a go-ahead
and to be on the lookout.

Yes, madam.

Are you ready?

-Ready.
-Then let's go and catch us a criminal.

Stand by, teams.

Move in!

I'm Senior Investigation Officer Paige
from Commercial Affairs Department.

You are under arrest for cheating.

Cuff her.

-Do you understand English?
-Yes.

-What is your name?
-Fang Jiang Ling.

Are you from "China Interpol"?

No.

I'm a university student.

But I'm helping Officer Lin
who is from China Interpol.

Officer Lin?

What did he tell you to do?

He said I was a suspect

in a criminal investigation in China

with ties to Singapore.

Because of this, I might get deported
and sent to prison.

But he said he knew I was innocent,

so he needed my help
to catch the real criminal.

I see.

So how did Officer Lin
say you could help him?

He sent me an image
of a China Interpol Officer ID card

and told me to print it out
and put it in a card holder.

He said it was to be used
during investigations.

Office Lin called me earlier today

and told me to come here

to collect an envelope
from a suspect.

He said the suspect
would know who I am

when I showed her
the China Interpol ID.

Do you know what is in
the envelope you collected?

No! He didn't tell me.

What are you supposed to do now?

I am supposed to wait for
further instructions

from Officer Lin.

Am I in trouble?

So it appears Jiang Ling didn't know
what she was doing.

She might be an innocent victim
in all this.

Madam, the scammer is calling.

If he is still trying to contact her,

then obviously he doesn't know
that we have her.

This is good. We can use
this opportunity to nab him.

Yes. But we will need
Jiang Ling's help.

And we will also need
a plausible cover story

as to why she hasn't
answered her phone.

How about telling him that she was spotted
by the condo security guard

because she was loitering around

and that was why she couldn't
answer the call?

But will the scammer
believe that story?

The fact that he's calling
shows he's desperate.

He wants the money.

He thinks that there's $200,000
at stake here.

Let's use his greed against him.

Jiang Ling, we need your help again.

We want you to continue
with the handover

as per Officer Lin's instructions.

But we will accompany you there
and make sure you are safe.

Okay, I will help.

Thank you.

This is the plan.

Devi and I will accompany Jiang Ling
to the location.

Sunny, you take an advance team
to 100 Kallang Street

and do some reconnaissance.

-We don't want to go in blind.
-Understood, madam.

Let's go.

Madam, there's a Chinese lady
waiting at the drop-off point.

There's nobody else here.

Roger. Keep eyes on her.

It's likely she's our suspect.

Roger.

Ming Kai, drive slowly
and stop the car

100 metres away from the suspect.

Jiang Ling will alight
to meet the suspect.

Don't worry,
even though you can't see them,

there are numerous
police officers here.

They will keep an eye on you.
You'll be safe, okay?

Okay.

Jiang Ling is out of the way.

Move in!

I'm Senior Investigation Officer Paige
from Commercial Affairs Department.

You are under arrest for cheating.

Cuff her.

I just know
that I will be paid by Mr Lin

for collecting and delivering
the envelope. That's all.

Who are you delivering
the envelope to?

I don't know.

I'm supposed to wait for Mr Lin
to call with instructions.

My colleague will answer the call
and put it on speaker mode.

You will tell him that you have collected
the envelope and ask him for instructions.

Okay?

Any updates?

Jiang Ling's story checks out.

We went through the text messages
in her phone.

The scammer
who pretended to be Officer Lin

did threaten her with imprisonment
and extradition

if she didn't help him.

So it is clear that Jiang Ling
wasn't involved

in cheating Selene Moh of $200,000.

And the scammer
has not contacted Pey Ying

since he told her to purchase
an air ticket to KL.

Since then, no calls, no texts

and now, his number
has been disconnected.

But then, why ask Pey Ying
to buy a ticket to Malaysia?

He probably suspected
something was wrong.

I think his last instruction
was probably a test.

If Pey Ying couldn't leave Singapore,
then it meant that she was arrested.

How did you get to know Mr Lin?

I lost my job in KL.

I was asking around,
looking for a new job.

Then he contacted me.

Have you ever met Mr Lin
in person before?

No. He contacted me by phone
with instructions

and then he pays me online
when the job is done.

How many times have you done this?

Just a few times.

They're all different people,
at different places.

Do you know
where Mr Lin is right now?

No.

He didn't say and I didn't ask.

In the case you have just seen,

an innocent woman
was almost scammed

of $200,000.

Thanks to the quick thinking
and swift action of officers

from the Commercial Affairs
Department,

the ploy was foiled
and no monies were lost.

Dear friends, recently,
there has been an increase

in phishing scams
involving delivery companies.

In 2021, there were 2,783 cases

of non-banking-related
phishing scams,

involving a total of $15.3 million

lost to such scammers.

Victims would receive emails
or text messages from scammers

pretending to be delivery companies
such as SingPost.

The scammers would claim
that the item cannot be delivered

unless payment is made.

Victims would then
be given a URL link

to make a payment.

Clicking on these links would
redirect victims to fraudulent websites,

where they are tricked into providing
their debit or credit card details

and their One-Time Password.

Victims would later realise
that they have been scammed

when they discover
unauthorised transactions

on their credit or debit card.

Stay safe when shopping online

or when waiting for your deliveries.

Protect yourself from such scams
with the following tips.

Do not click on suspicious URL links

in unsolicited emails
and text messages.

Always double-check such messages

with the official website
or alternative sources.

Never reveal your personal details,

Internet banking details,

or One-Time Password to anyone.

Report any fraudulent
credit or debit card charges

to your bank immediately.

Vigilance plays a critical role

in scam prevention.

All it takes is a few minutes

to look at suspicious
requests carefully

and seek verification

before handing over
any information and money.

If you need advice,
please call our Anti-Scam Helpline

at 1800-722-6688

or go to www.scamalert.sg

We have come to the end
of this episode of "Crimewatch".

I'm DSP Joshua Jesudason.

And until next time,

do your part to prevent,
deter and detect crimes.

Transcript: Gayle Mak, Mediacorp Pte Ltd