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SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s home ministry said on Friday that it will introduce a law in coming months to grant police the power to temporarily restrict the banking transactions of targets of scams who refuse to believe they are being duped. The proposed law comes as the number of scam cases involving the voluntary transfer of money by the victim to the scammer remains high, despite measures and efforts to educate the public on how […]
Hundreds of people forced to work in an online scam centre in the Philippines were rescued in a raid on Thursday that also saw eight suspects arrested, according to police. Acting on a tip from a Vietnamese man who alleged to have escaped the sprawling compound north of capital Manila, police said they unmasked an operation where suspected victims of human trafficking were forced into conducting various online scams. “The rescued workers told us (the […]
SINGAPORE, Jan 24, 2024 (AFP) – More than 6,300 people fell prey to “fake friend” scams in Singapore last year and collectively lost an equivalent of nearly $16 million, according to police. Such scams involve contacting victims, pretending to be someone they know, and asking for financial assistance. The wealthy city-state has been hit with a surge in scams in recent years, with authorities issuing frequent warnings to the public against fresh schemes from criminals. […]
YANGON, Oct 28, 2023 (AFP) – Myanmar police arrested 95 people during raids this week on an online scam operation in the commercial hub of Yangon, authorities said. The country has been in chaos since a military coup in February 2021, with criminal syndicates taking advantage of the lawlessness to run scam centres, particularly in border regions. Authorities arrested a total of 95 people at three addresses in Yangon on Thursday — most of […]
BATAM, Indonesia, Aug 30, 2023 (AFP) – Dozens of Chinese nationals were arrested in Indonesia on suspicion of running an online love scam syndicate that ensnared hundreds of victims in China, police said Wednesday. Acting on a tip-off from their Chinese counterparts, Indonesian police arrested 83 men and five women at an industrial park in Batam city in Riau Islands province on Tuesday. Police said the syndicate blackmailed hundreds of victims in China, many of […]
GENEVA, Aug 29, 2023 (AFP) – Hundreds of thousands of people are being coerced in Southeast Asia by criminal gangs into carrying out online scams, often under the threat of torture, the United Nations said Tuesday. Many have been trafficked into working in online criminality and face serious violations such as torture or sexual violence, the UN said in a report. “People who are coerced into working in these scamming operations endure inhumane treatment while […]
Bangkok, Thailand (AFP) Thai police are hunting a YouTube dancer nicknamed “Nutty”, who swindled millions of dollars from her followers using a foreign exchange trading scam, authorities said Wednesday. Natthamon Khongchak, 29, who also uses the aliases Leah and Suchata, has a following of nearly 850,000 on the video-sharing platform. Local media reported there could be up to 6,000 victims who lost up to $55 million after being promised 35 percent investment returns. So far […]
(Eagle News)–The Bureau of Immigration has warned the public of what it said was a new online modus perpetrated by unscrupulous individuals who use the names of some of the bureau’s officials. In a statement, the bureau said that the scammer would pretend to be the Immigration bureau chief or another Immigration employee and send unsuspecting victims an email. In the email, the person would pretend to have difficulty sending money to a distressed friend […]
Summons data protection officers of telecom firms, e-commerce platforms and banks (Eagle News) – Amid the recent surge of scam texts, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) asked telecommunications firms, online or e-commerce platforms, and several banks to report the steps that they are taking to fight fraudsters that target not only internet users, but mobile phone users as well. Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro called the public’s attention to “smishing,” a new scam procedure being used […]
(Eagle News) — The Bureau of Immigration on Tuesday, July 6, said that it doesn’t collect fees for “immigration airport assistance.” Bureau chief Jaime Morente made the statement after the bureau said a document from a Philippine-based company showed a breakdown of the fees it supposedly charges its employees who are foreign nationals. Morente did not identify the company. “This company is allegedly charging P5,000 as Airport Assistance Fee, another P5,000 for processing fee, and […]
Mayor says no such illegal sale of vaccines in San Juan after initial investigation, expresses confidence in the integrity of his people (Eagle News) — San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said that an initial probe that the city has conducted on the reported illegal selling of vaccines in the city found that this was being done online by scammers. He said that were able to contact the person who was offered the vaccine […]
TORONTO, Canada (AFP) – A court in Toronto on Wednesday ordered Volkswagen to pay a fine of Can$196.5 million (US$150 million) after the automaker pleaded guilty to violating environmental laws in the emissions cheating scandal. The court accepted an agreement that the German automaker reached with the Canadian government, which in December filed a 60-count indictment against the company. This fine is in addition to nearly Can$2.4 billion that Volkswagen had agreed to pay in […]
