BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): The Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) urged the public who have fallen victim to online scams to immediately lodge a police report and inform their banks to avoid or minimise financial losses.
Deputy Commissioner of Police at the RBPF Pengiran Anak Mohammad Saifullah said this during a press conference on online scams earlier this week.
Asked if the BND5 million in financial losses due to online scams in 2024 could be recovered, the Deputy Commissioner of Police said, “The faster a victim reports the scam to their bank, the higher the chance of blocking the transaction and freezing the account.
“The moment the money leaves the country’s banking system, the chances of recovery are almost zero. Therefore, it will depend on how fast the victim reports the scam.”
He added, “The message is that if you become a victim of a scam, report it immediately. We have procedures we can follow with the banking sector, so there is a higher chance of recovery and stopping the money from being transferred out of the country.”
Head of the Cybercrime Investigation Division under the Criminal Investigation Department Senior Superintendent Hendrie Amin said, “If the incident happened today or one hour ago, there is still a chance of recovery.”
He cited a case where a victim transferred BND40,000. Within five minutes, the money was transferred to another bank and then to another. The money was then dispersed to 10 accounts, each receiving BND4,000. The scammers then withdrew all the money.
“Some victims,” he added, “reported an investment scam they participated in last year and were promised a return this year.
“The money had already been withdrawn and we can only charge the mule account holder.”
In one ‘Macau Scam’ case, he shared it “involved the transfer of a few hundred thousand dollars, but only a little over a hundred dollars was found and seized by the police as the rest of the money had been transferred.”
Pengiran Anak Mohammad Saifullah also said, “The RBPF has deployed an in-depth and extensive strategic approach, reaching out to ministries, schools, communities, non-governmental organisations and senior citizens associations. However, individuals are still falling for scams. Therefore, we need the media’s support to spread the word further.”
He shared that currently, no masterminds have been found locally.
“Five foreigners have been detained by the RBPF for the involvement in a ‘Macau Scam’.
The mastermind is believed to be outside the country. However, there are individuals, either local or foreign, who play the role of accomplices to the syndicate,” he said.
Senior Superintendent Hendrie added, “In e-commerce or investment scams, we found that many locals become bank account mules, lending their accounts to scammers. More than 10 individuals involved as bank account mules have been detained and will be produced in court to be charged.”
He shared that two to three individuals will be brought to court for lending out their phone SIM cards to scammers.
Pengiran Anak Mohammad Saifullah said, “Basically, the majority of the locals involved had lent bank accounts, lent or sold phone SIM cards, and, concerningly, had become runners for syndicates for a low pay.”
He highlighted, “The phone numbers used by scammers reported to the Anti-Scam centre has reached 105. The RBPF is investigating if these numbers were lent out.” He said the private sector and government agencies play a vital role in working with the police to take immediate action. “We are working closely with telecommunication companies as well as banks to combat online scams,” he said.
Acting Director of the Criminal Investigation Department Assistant Commissioner of Police Azree Abdul Manaf shared that locals involved in lending bank accounts were given small payments. “Some were given BND50. Some thought it was easy money, so they were easily influenced.”
He added one individual registered five SIM cards that were sold to scammers.
“Lending an account or SIM card can be an offence as an accomplice,” he added. – Borneo Bulletin/ANN
