SINGAPORE \u2013 Three teenagers, including a Malaysian, were arrested for their suspected involvement in a US$2.89 million (S$3.7 million) scam, with two of them set to be charged in court on April 25, the police said.<\/p>\n
Preliminary investigations found that the three teens \u2013 two Singaporeans aged 19 and 16, and a 19-year-old Malaysian \u2013 conspired with a scam syndicate in Malaysia to set up shell companies in March and April. <\/p>\n
They also opened DBS corporate bank accounts as part of efforts to receive their illicit scam earnings, the police said.<\/p>\n
The trio duped a US fund remitter via a business e-mail compromise scam into transferring US$2.89 million to one of the corporate accounts they had set up.<\/p>\n
The DBS corporate bank account holder later attempted to withdraw US$2.56 million of the funds, raising suspicions among DBS staff, who informed the police of the fraudulent activity on April 22. <\/p>\n
The rest of the scam proceeds had been wired to other bank accounts overseas, the police said.<\/p>\n
Officers from the Singapore Police Force\u2019s Anti-Scam Command contacted Interpol, which in turn informed the US remitter that it had fallen prey to the scam. <\/p>\n
The police did not offer details on this business e-mail scam variant, which typically involves cybercriminals impersonating executives, employees or known vendors via e-mail to defraud companies.<\/p>\n
Investigations led to the arrest of the corporate bank account holder in Woodlands on April 23, with the other two teens nabbed later that day.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old duo will be charged in court on April 25 with assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct. <\/p>\n
If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $500,000, or both. <\/p>\n
Investigations against the 16-year-old are ongoing, the police said.<\/p>\n
Scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates face mandatory caning of at least six strokes and up to 24 strokes.<\/p>\n