Woman gets jail after bank account linked to her received nearly $4.8m in scam proceeds

SINGAPORE — In need of money, a woman who was just released from prison agreed to share her Singpass details with another person as she was promised she would receive $60,000 annually.

Sakinah Waheeda Abdul Manan, 34, is back behind bars after a bank account linked to her received the benefits of a phishing scam totalling nearly $4.8 million.

She was sentenced to 14 months' jail on Wednesday (Jan 8) after she pleaded guilty to charges, including that of misusing a computer system.

Court documents did not state if Sakinah, who had been in and out of jail for drug-related and other offences, received the promised annual reward.

She met a person identified as "Alan" on messaging platform Telegram and gave him her Singpass details.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jordon Li did not disclose when Sakinah first got to know Alan, who had said that she would be paid for such details.

Alan used her details to register two companies, called Froxify Trade and Frox Designz.

Then, using online services, he opened a bank account for Froxify Trade. In September 2021, the account received the benefits of a phishing scam totalling nearly $4.8million.

The prosecutor added: "(As part of the arrangement), the accused would be the registered local resident director of the companies (which) would be operated by 'foreign directors'.

"The accused did not need to do anything in relation to the companies. This raised the accused's suspicions as she was being offered a lot of money and did not have to do anything in return."

Despite her suspicions, Sakinah attended an interview at the bank as part of the process of opening Froxify Trade's account.

Alan provided her with information about the firm's purported business so that she could address the bank's queries.

The account was opened on July 28, 2021, and received the scam proceeds on three separate occasions in late September that year. These funds were dissipated soon after.

On Oct 5, 2021, the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) received information from the United States that the e-mail system of a company there had been compromised in a phishing scam and the ill-gotten gains were deposited into Froxify Trade's bank account.

Only around $8,600 was left when the CAD seized the account two days later.

In a separate incident, Alan told Sakinah some time before Aug 23, 2021, that he would pay her $1,500 if she opened another bank account and allowed him to control it.

She did as she was told that month and shared with him information that included the internet banking details linked to this new account.

On Aug 23, 2021, a victim of a cryptocurrency investment scam in Singapore deposited $8,000 into it before alerting the police.

Sakinah, who received the $1,500 reward from Alan, was charged in court in 2024.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.