Third suspect named in ATM fraud case

SINGAPORE - A third suspect, Chin Yew Pong, has been named along with the two Malaysians who were charged in court yesterday for their involvement in the DBS ATM skimming case, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

Loke Siew Fei, 27, and H'ng Gaik Chin, 39, were arrested on Thursday at a hotel in Lorong 22 Geylang, during a raid operation by the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force.

They were found with various devices used for ATM card skimming, including a customised panel with a pin-hole camera and a fake Fraudulent Device Inhibitor (FDI). The FDI they possessed was a green plastic object resembling an ATM card slot, ST said.

Loke and H'ng had their charges read to them on Saturday morning. If found guilty, they face a jail term of up to 10 years, or a fine, or both.

No further details were provided by the court about Chin, the alleged accomplice.


DBS said yesterday that it has, with immediate effect, blocked overseas ATM withdrawal functions for customers with no recent history of overseas usage.

Currently, all DBS and POSB ATM and debit cards can be used both locally and abroad, but customers have the option to block overseas usage of their cards by informing the bank.

For added security, customers who have not used their cards outside Singapore since July 1 last year will now not be able to make ATM cash withdrawals overseas unless the bank is instructed otherwise.

With effect from Tuesday, Jan 17, customers who have chosen to enable their cards for overseas use will also receive a real-time SMS confirmation.

For added protection, customers can also choose to lower their daily cash withdrawal limit at any branch.

DBS said "it is fast-tracking the rollout of additional security measures to further guard against unauthorised ATM withdrawals".

On Jan 12, DBS started sending SMS alerts to customers who have made ATM transactions overseas which are above a certain amount.

Starting tomorrow, the bank will commence sending SMS alerts for selective domestic cash withdrawals.

Close to 700 DBS/POSB customers have been affected by the ATM card skimming fraud, with a total of $1 million stolen.