PUBLISHED ONOctober 29, 2026 7:57 AMBYSean LerA Singapore-based petrochemical company was able to recover US$12.8 million (S$16.4 million) lost in a business email compromise scam, thanks to the efforts of the police, OCBC, and the Cambodian National Police.
In a news release on Thursday (Oct 29), the police said that they received a report from the company on Oct 26, saying that it had been scammed into transferring the amount to a fraudulent bank account in Cambodia.
Preliminary investigations by the police's Cyber Command found that the company received an email sent by its "business counterpart" on Oct 1, containing revised payment instructions directing payment to a new bank account.
According to the police, the company identified discrepancies in the payment documents, but eventually went ahead with the transfer on Oct 13 after the scammers furnished an authorisation letter.
The letter bore its business counterpart's company signature and stamp that lent legitimacy to the revised payment instructions.
It was not till Oct 26 that the bluff was called, when the company's business counterpart said it has yet to receive the payment, which prompted the petrochemical company to call the police.
Following the report, the police coordinated with the Cambodian National Police and OCBC, and was able to trace and fully recover the funds.
The police said it remains steadfast in its commitment to strengthening international partnerships to safeguard the global financial system against cross-border fraud.
"Through robust collaboration and the strategic framework of FRONTIER+, law enforcement agencies can effectively dismantle sophisticated scam networks and safeguard victims worldwide.
FRONTIER+ is a coalition of anti-scam centres from 16 different jurisdictions, which enables cross-border fund tracing and recovery, intelligence sharing, and coordinated enforcement through joint operations.
Businesses are advised to remain vigilant against business email compromise scams, which can result in significant financial losses.
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