An international police cooperation effort has brought down a transnational internet love scam syndicate that cheated victims from Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macau of a total of about S$5.8 million.

Among the 139 cases that were reported in this syndicate bust, 30 of them came from Singapore, involving losses of more than S$262,000. These were all solved.

Syndicate based in Malaysia

According to an announcement from the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the syndicate was identified and established to be based in Malaysia after joint investigations by law enforcement teams from Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macau.

The four enforcement teams involved are:

1. The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of the Singapore Police Force
2. The Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) of the Royal Malaysia Police
3. Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) of the Hong Kong Police Force
4. The Information Technology Crimes Division (ITCD) of the Macau Judiciary Police (MJP)

Since Jan. 2019, officers from the four countries had been collaborating by sharing intelligence with each other on Internet love scams reported in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macau.

Between Tuesday (Nov. 19) and Thursday (Nov. 21), the Malaysian CCID led simultaneous raids across several locations in Malaysia and arrested three Nigerian men, 11 Malaysian women and four Malaysian men.

139 cases, 4 S'porean women allegedly involved in aiding transfers to syndicate

The syndicate is believed to be involved in at least 139 cases of Internet love scams reported in the four jurisdictions, totalling losses of around S$5.8 million.

Several telecommunication devices and laptops were also seized during the operation.

At the same time, CAD officers in Singapore conducted investigations against four Singaporean women, aged between 28 and 67, for allegedly facilitating the transfer of criminal proceeds to the syndicate.

The director of CAD, David Chew, thanked his Malaysian counterparts for leading the main arrest operations in Malaysia.

"The success of this joint operation demonstrates the common resolve of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and its regional partners to fight transnational fraud, and sends a strong signal to cross-border scam syndicates that we (law enforcement) will dismantle their networks and arrest their members, wherever they may be hiding."

Be wary of online strangers, and of sending money to strangers online

The police has since advised members of the public to be careful when befriending strangers online.

They should also be wary when asked to send money to the bank accounts of people whom they do not know or who claim to be government officers.

An anti-scam helpline is available at 1800-722-6688, and additional information about scam-related advice is available at www.scamalert.sg.

Top image via Hannah Wei and Bill Oxford on Unsplash, for illustrative purposes only