Tag Archive for: persons

12 Persons Arrested For Suspected Involvement In Banking-Related Malware Scam Cases

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A total of 11 men and one woman, aged between 17 and 40, have been arrested for their suspected involvement in the recent spate of banking-related malware scam cases, following an island-wide anti-scam enforcement operation conducted between 9 and 20 October 2023.

Over the course of two weeks, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) and Police Intelligence Department (PID) mounted simultaneous island-wide operations and arrested 12 persons. Preliminary investigations revealed that the 11 men and one woman had allegedly facilitated the scam cases by relinquishing their bank accounts, Internet banking credentials and/or disclosing Singpass credentials for monetary gains.  

Since January 2023, the Police have received increasing number of reports of malware being used to compromise Android mobile devices, resulting in unauthorised transactions made from the victims’ bank accounts, even when they had not divulged their Internet banking credentials, One-Time-Passwords (OTPs) or Singpass credentials to anyone. In these cases, the victims responded to advertisements (e.g., on cleaning services, pet grooming, food items such as seafood and groceries, etc.) on social media platforms such as Facebook. They were then instructed by the scammers to download Android Package Kit (APK) from non-official app stores to facilitate the purchase, which led to malware being installed on their mobile devices. Subsequently, the scammers convinced the victims via phone calls or text messages to turn on accessibility services on their Android phones. This weakened the phones’ security, allowing scammers to take full control of the victims’ phones. As a result, the scammers could log every keystroke, steal banking credentials stored on the phones, remotely access victims’ banking apps, add money mules as payees, raise payment limits and transfer money to money mules. The scammers could further delete SMSes and email notifications of the bank transactions to cover their tracks.

Police investigations are ongoing. The offence of acquiring benefits from criminal conduct under Section 54(5)(a) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes…

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11 Persons Arrested For Suspected Involvement In Banking-Related Malware Scam Cases

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A total of eight men and two women, aged between 17 and 57, and a 16-year-old teenager have been arrested for their suspected involvement in the recent spate of banking-related malware scam cases. Another five men and a woman, aged between 21 and 41, are assisting in the investigations, following an island-wide anti-scam enforcement operations conducted between 11 and 22 September 2023.

Over the course of two weeks, officers from Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) and Police Intelligence Department (PID) mounted simultaneous island-wide operations and arrested the 11 persons. Preliminary investigations revealed that seven men and two women, and the teenager, had allegedly facilitated the scam cases by relinquishing their bank accounts, Internet banking credentials and/or disclosing Singpass credentials for monetary gains. A 28-year-old man is believed to have withdrawn money from his bank account and handed the money to an unknown person.

Since January 2023, the Police have received increasing number of reports of malware being used to compromise Android mobile devices, resulting in unauthorised transactions made from the victims’ bank accounts, even when they have not divulged their Internet banking credentials, One-Time-Passwords (OTPs) or Singpass credentials to anyone. In these cases, the victims responded to advertisements (e.g., on cleaning services, pet grooming, food items such as seafood and groceries, etc.) on social media platforms like Facebook. They were then instructed by the scammers to download Android Package Kit (APK) from non-official app stores to facilitate the purchase, which led to malware being installed on their mobile devices. Subsequently, the scammers convinced the victims via phone calls or text messages to turn on accessibility services on their Android phones. This weakened the phones’ security, allowing scammers to take full control of the victims’ phones. As a result, the scammers could log every keystroke, steal banking credentials stored on the phones, remotely log access victims’ banking apps, add money mules as payees, raise payment limits and transfer money to money mules. The scammers can further delete…

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Suicide Prevention Awareness Month  – Support for Persons at Elevated Risk for Suicide > United States Coast Guard > My Coast Guard News

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If you are close to someone who has experienced a recent suicidal crisis and who may not be fully recovered. How do you think about their risk and what kind of support can you provide?  It is likely that you or someone else played a key role in encouraging their pursuit of urgent mental health care and/or a formal suicide risk assessment. Regardless of what the risk was assessed to be at the time, it is important to know suicide risk is dynamic and subject to change based on a variety of factors. 

Factors Influencing Continuing Suicide Risk Following an Acute Crisis

  • Untreated depression or anxiety

  • Ongoing stressor that is unresolved and/or subject to intensify

  • Persistent problems with sleep or ability to function

  • Unrelenting hopelessness and/or pessimism

  • Misuse of alcohol and/or substances

  • Intermittent or persistent thoughts of death or suicide

  • Access to lethal means to harm oneself

Supporting Those with Elevated Risk of Suicide

You may have had an initial conversation with your family member, friend, or coworker about their crisis and your connection may have supplied an important dose of hope and encouragement.  It is vital that you convey your continuing availability and support, that they are not traversing this difficult time alone.  Your listening and empathic understanding during this time is indispensable.  Your time spent with them will afford you the opportunity to encourage initiating or sustaining their participation in treatment (medication and psychotherapy have strong evidence bases for reducing suicide risk), watching for signs of acute increased risk for suicide (establishes a basis for urgent evaluation/care), reminding them of reasons to live, and assisting with lethal means safety. 

Lethal Means Safety

Restricting access to the available means to harm oneself has been shown to reduce suicides.  Studies have shown that people have a preference for a given means and that many do not seek out other methods if a preferred means is not available.  The time between thinking of suicide and acting on it can span minutes, but also subside as quickly.  Restricting access to lethal means…

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N. Korean security officials use arrested foreign mobile phone users to investigate persons of interest

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special patrols coronavirus outbreak smuggler mobile phones strict smuggler border
A border patrol checkpoint in Pungso County, Yanggang Province. This photo was taken in February 2019. (Daily NK)

North Korean security officials along the China-North Korea border have recently been attempting to engage in video calls with interested parties in China and South Korea through locals arrested for using foreign-made mobile phones.

This suggests that with North Korean security authorities declaring a “mop-up operation” against users of foreign-made mobile phones to completely “root out” so-called “anti-socialist and non-socialist behavior,” the scope of the Ministry of State Security’s investigation is expanding beyond North Korea’s borders.

According to a Daily NK source in Yanggang Province, Ministry of State Security branches along the border have been “brashly” carrying out their investigations by using locals arrested for using foreign-made mobile phones to make video calls to persons of interest in South Korea and China to confirm their identities. 

They are reportedly confirming the nationalities, areas of residence and remittance sources of those who have been in contact with the arrested locals.

In fact, a woman in her 40s identified by her family name of Kang was arrested in Hyesan last month by the city branch of the Ministry of State Security for illegally receiving remittances and using an illegal mobile phone. When security officials searched Kang’s house, they found the Chinese-made mobile phone she used and a fat stack of cash.

Recently, a Ministry of State Security investigator handling her care called her to an interrogation room and forced her to engage in video chatting with about 80 people on her WeChat list. WeChat is a Chinese instant messaging app.

The authorities aimed to confirm the credibility and accuracy of Kang’s confession, and to determine whether the people on her list were simply ordinary people or spies.

Essentially, investigators have gone beyond their existing practice of bringing cases to a conclusion by extracting confessions from suspects, and are expanding the scope of their inquiries.

The source said the Ministry of State Security has once again called on agents to use all…

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