Ahmed Shaariq Nizar

BEC Scam initiated on Singapore company almost cause to a lost of over 40M$!! " The development comes after an unnamed commodity firm based in Singapore fell victim to a BEC scam in mid-July 2024. It refers to a type of cybercrime where a malicious actor poses as a trusted figure and uses email to trick targets into sending money or divulging confidential company information. Such attacks can take place in myriad ways, including gaining unauthorized access to a finance employee or a law firm's email account to send fake invoices or impersonating a third-party vendor to email a phony bill. "On 15 July, the firm had received an email from a supplier requesting that a pending payment be sent to a new bank account based in Timor-Leste," INTERPOL said in a press statement. "The email, however, came from a fraudulent account spelled slightly different to the supplier's official email address." The Singaporean company is said to have transferred $42.3 million to the non-existent supplier on July 19, only for it to realize the blunder on July 23 after the actual supplier said it had not been compensated. However, by taking advantage of INTERPOL's Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP) mechanism, authorities in Singapore managed to detect $39 million and froze the counterfeit bank account a day later." https://lnkd.in/g6_HEw2S #singapore #BEC #fraud #scam #cyber #interpol

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Some months ago on Singapore's National Day, I shared a poem that I wrote titled "Grow". Some friends encouraged me to compose a song with this poem, knowing that I had some earlier compositions. So I decided to use AI to do so...rock version, renamed as "It's Okay". And guess what...it's completed within minutes, including full music arrangement, instrumentation and vocals - amazing! (PS: for my previous compositions, it took several months end-to-end to complete, including recording.) Enjoy...Happy weekend. 📀 "It's Okay" (Lyrics: Him Chuan LIM; Music: AI) (Verse 1) We count our blessings, Making a difference today, Hope for a better tomorrow, As we start another day. With the courage to press on, Gratitude as our way. (Chorus) It’s okay, And we say, It’s really okay, To be not okay, So long as we keep our faith, On our voyage amid winds and waves. (Verse 2) You think you’re alone, Caught in dismay, Truth is in this world, Many do not say. Our stories might be different, But sharing if we may. (Chorus) It’s okay, And we say, It’s really okay, To be not okay, So long as we keep our faith, On our voyage amid winds and waves. (Bridge) Speaking like a victim, That’s not the way, Not always black or white, Often shades of gray. Finding a way out, Beaming like sun rays. (Verse 3) Life is a journey, That’s what we say, Ups and downs, twists and turns, They are here to stay. Past is history, future unknown, We do our best for the present day. (Chorus) It’s okay, And we say, It’s really okay, To be not okay, So long as we keep our faith, On our voyage amid winds and waves. #grow #ai #musiccomposition

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Why must travellers declare S$20,000 cash when entering or leaving Singapore? This is a pretty easy to answer question: To make it harder for financial crime to happen in Singapore. Singapore’s free and business minded economy unfortunately not only attracts “clean” players, but as the recent SGD 3bn money laundering scandal has shown it also attracts many persons with let’s say at least dubious characters. Cash is anonymous and is therefore attractive to those who like to stay unrecognised or have something to hide. In the past moving (even larger amounts of) physical cash still had one objective reason: Bank fees for remitting money from one country to another were (at times excessively) high and it could actually be cheaper to move the physical cash (despite the obvious risks involved). With the advent of the army of remittance companies, remittances have become very affordable and thus there hardly is any cost saving in moving physical cash; to the contrary there are many cases where cash is not welcome and depositing physical cash can be more costly than remitting cash. It therefore becomes obvious that the only reason to move larger amounts of physical cash (and amounts above SGD 20k are large for cash purposes) are to engage in illegal activity. This could be avoiding taxes or washing monies derived from other crimes. Both examples are monies that are not welcome in Singapore. Do you agree with my views, or do you see reasons – other than those with illegal background to move such amounts of cash in and out of Singapore? #singapore, #moneylaundering, #physicalcash, #financialcrime https://lnkd.in/gP3tMDER

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The Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers Annual Malaysian Banking Conference 2024 was a fabulous gathering of the industry leaders. It is no surprise that #AI dominated the conversation throughout the day. I had the opportunity to host a dialogue with four industry leaders, Manpreet Singh (CCXP) Ryan Teoh Vishnu Nanduri,PhD Rohan Raghavan. The diversity of experiences of the leaders from CX to strategy and technology enabled us explore critical issues and opportunities to reimagine the industry. The biggest takeaway for me was the question on "How do we measure AI's success in banking?" We identified five critical areas that could define the success of AI in banking. 1. ACCELERATE THE TIMELINES TO OUR ASPIRATIONS: How can AI advance our company, business unit, and individual career goals? Can we achieve our goals earlier than schedule? 2. IMPROVING EXPERIENCES: Can we reduce "The effort score" for customers, employees, and partners? 3. CUSTOMER VALUE SCORE: Banks measure customer lifetime value. Is it possible that banks can start sharing insight into how much value they have created for you as a customer? Can banks measure their purpose impact? 4. SERVING ALL SEGMENTS FAIRLY: How do we ensure AI helps banks reach underserved markets like SMEs and the unbanked? Can we serve them they same way we serve our most valued and high profile customers? 5. ENHANCING SECURITY: The digital era has only created more scams and challenges for consumers. Can AI make banking safer for consumers? Did we miss anything?

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For third-party providers ICT service providers (TPP) to financial services (FS) firms we offer a Gratis two day DORA Critical Friend (DORA-CF) informal review.  Problem Statement: There are c14,000 TPPs that need to be DORA compliant by Jan 17 2025 and most of these TPPs are in the early stages of DORA compliance. TPP Account Managers (AM) to FS firms are included in the firing line for penalties, should the regulator find that that your TPP is non-compliant. The TPP penalties are up to EUR c27k Per Day per Billion in TPP revenue.  Solution Option available: DORACompliant .com offer a NDA'd, critical friend service on DORA progress with improvement and optimisation recommendations to you, a DORA affected TPP. Our DORA-CF checklist covers six key areas, namely: Pillars 1-4 (Risk Framework, Incident Management, Resilience Testing and TPP Risk), your Register of Information and your 2025 DORA reporting schedule to the regulator. DORA-CF is a rapid and (limited number) gratis service aimed at concerned TPP managers (including AMs) who provide external services that underpin one or more of your FS firms that are within the scope of DORA. The outcomes of the DORA-CF service are both formal and informal. Formal: we provide a short summary RAG-based checklist DORA-CF Summary report with findings and improvement recommendations.  Informal: We provide a critical friend conversational environment to discuss your perceived DORA challenges when facing your internal organisation, your FS client organisation and the regulator expectations. We are offering Five gratis DORA-CF informal reviews to TPPs within the #DORA community during December / early Jan 2025, on a first come first served basis.  We know that you have your own internal experts but an external '4 eyes' perspective can also add value to prioritisation and resource allocation. This DORA-CF service can be undertaken in strict confidence by the local account team or by a central DORA function. Feel free to message me to find out more about this useful TPP service.  Note that Acnizant and TheAcmeybank are fictitious organisations #DigitalResilience #OperationalResilience #OPRes #ICTResilience #CFO #CXO #CIO #VFM #ITO #DORA #Accenture #Atos #Capgemini #Computacenter #Coforge #Cognizant #Deloitte #Evidian #Fujitsu #DXC #HCL #Hexaware #IBM #Infosys #Mphasis #NTTData #Salesforce #SopraSteria #TCS #TechMahindra #Unisys #Wipro #ICTAudit #GRC #RiskManagement #Finance #Bank #Insurance #Payment #ePayment #Credit #Financial #Crypto #emoney #Investment #Asset #Pension #Reinsurance #Funds #DORAROI #Acnizant

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🇸🇬 We love acronyms in #Singapore and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) just released a new set! 💡As #Compliance Officers, we need to know our 4Ds (and yes, they can be in the billions range). Detect, Deprive, Deliver and Deter. 1. Detect suspicious and criminal activities by tracing the illicit funds; 2. Deprive criminals of their ill-gotten proceeds through prompt seizure and confiscation; 3. Deliver maximum recovery of assets for forfeiture and restitution to victims; and 4. Deter criminals from using Singapore to hide, move, or enjoy their illicit assets. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published its National Asset Recovery Strategy. This will however require intensive international coordination for overseas victims.

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Share below The Mother of All Scams in S'pore This nickel trading scam has to be the mother of all scams in S'pore to date. Bernard Madoff was considered to be one of the biggest scammers in American history and now S'pore has the dubious honour of having our very own "biggest" scammer. What's the scam about? According to the Straits Times, this man Ng Yu Zhi managed to trick investors (including many highly educated professionals) of $1.5 billion to his non-existent nickel trading business. Can see the report here: https://lnkd.in/giwiztEd The scam, a ponzi scheme was so well camouflaged as a legitimate business that even professionals such as Temasek International general counsel Pek Siok Lan, former Law Society president Thio Shen Yi and Vickers Venture Partners founder Finian Tan, known for spotting the potential in search giant Baidu back in 2000, when it was just a small Chinese start-up, were hookwinked! The staff (as high up as the CEO) of the ponzi scheme thought they were working for a legitimate business, and because of that, they were able to convince the victims to invest. The CEO, Veronica Shim Wai Han, testified in court that at least two investors in the nickel trading scam “had died directly or indirectly because of pressure from this case”. This is tragic. They must have lost a lot of their life's savings. Scams will never go away. We must always be on our guard and DO NOT give in to greed. Stock markets are volatile and carry risks, scams are even worst - 100% loss guaranteed. So dont be embarrassed if you keep too much in your CPF nor feel guilty if you splurged on pampering yourself, buying that spanking new Merz or flying on business class on your holidays. It is definitely 1000% way better than giving it to scammers for them to enjoy those things using your hard earned money!

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FATF NCCT In it's report for 2000 the principal objective of the Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories (NCCT) Initiative was to reduce the vulnerability of the financial system to money laundering by ensuring that all financial centres adopt and implement measures for the prevention, detection and punishment of money laundering according to internally recognized standards . The February 2000 NCCTs report laid out the basic procedure for reviewing countries and territories as part of this initiative. The FATF established at that time four regional review groups (Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Africa/Middle East) consisting of representatives from the FATF member governments that served as the main points of contact with the reviewed country or territory. Countries were selected for review based on FATF members’ experience on a priority basis. The jurisdictions to be reviewed were informed of the work to be carried out by the FATF. The review groups gathered relevant laws, regulations and other relevant information, analysed this information against the 25 NCCT criteria, and drafted a report that was sent to the jurisdictions for comment. Each reviewed jurisdiction provided their comments on their respective draft reports. These comments and the draft reports themselves were discussed between the FATF and the jurisdictions concerned during a series of face-to-face meetings. Subsequently, the draft reports were discussed and adopted by the FATF Plenaries. A total of 47 countries or territories were examined in two rounds of reviews (in 2000 and 2001). A total of 23 were listed as NCCTs—15 in 2000 and 8 in 2001. The FATF has not reviewed any new jurisdictions since 2001 in the framework of the NCCT initiative. As of October 2006, there are no Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories in the context of the NCCT initiative. Annual NCCTs reports The annual NCCT reports below will give an overview of the NCCT process from the start of the initiative in February 2000 until the de-listing of the last country in October 2006. These reports include details of the deficiencies identified regarding the countries and territories identified as non-cooperative and the actions these countries and territories have taken to remedy them, including an indication of the timelines in which the change took place and the specific progress that was made. Initial Report on NCCTs (02/2000) First NCCTs review (06/2000) Second NCCTs review (06/2001) Third NCCTs review (06/2002) Fourth NCCTs review (06/2003) Fifth NCCTs review (07/2004) Sixth NCCTs review (06/2005) Seventh NCCTs review (06/2006) Eighth NCCTs review (10/2007)

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===== The By-Stander Approach ===== Every time a news flash like this pops up, it often leaves me stunned and perplexed over the cause which could have possibly led through a pathway to this effect. What traumatic experience could have left us with this crippling effect of indifference towards others? Such psychopathic riddles and more are always the questions of heated debates. While it is common for each and every one of us to experience trauma at least once in our life times and even so, in our professional careers. It is not uncommon to see how trauma can, in most instances drastically change our perception of how we view life and others in general. You see, trauma has the deadening effect of numbing the senses of feeling and drumming down the sensitivity to interesting and unique circumstances and events that would otherwise colour our lives with different shades of experiential lessons. After all, that’s why we are still alive right? To learn. To grow. However, oftentimes, we often deny ourselves such privileges in fight-or-flight responses to avoid pain - in particular the pain of rejection. This is quite startling as to how scamming actually works. Oftentimes, the scamer leaves the scamee feeling lost, confused and rejected. When such incidences happen, we subconsciously build walls and shells of protection to hide our vulnerabilities to shut out rejecting vices out there that may harm us and our self-esteem. While it doesn’t help that Singapore is largely a touristy / foreign migrant country, it also offers a wide variety of unique, high-quality interactions with individuals who have decided to nest here for a period. It is always necessary to take risks to gain the benefits which in turn helps you grow. Would you be willing take the blows of rejection to invest in yourself for a brighter future? People in Singapore reluctant to help strangers due to fear of being scammed: Survey

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My second semester of the Master of Computing at NUS is coming to a close. I had the privilege of gaining first-hand insights from the esteemed Vincent Loy, who was invited to conduct the course on Technology Risk and Cyber Resiliency. For any modern business or organization, its structure can be deconstructed into three fundamental pillars: Technology, Process, and People. That's why, throughout this course, we tackled the nuanced challenges and risks associated with digital transformations across these three pillars. As we stand at the crossroads of an increasingly digital future, it is clear that managing technological risks through these three pillars is not just necessary, but imperative for success. There is no one better positioned than Vincent to underscore the critical importance of managing technological risks and to reveal the tech landscape of the finance industry in Singapore. This course has profoundly impacted my understanding and approach to digital transformations, and I am eager to apply these insights in real-world scenarios. Thank you, Vincent Loy, for this enlightening journey and for preparing us to tackle the challenges of the digital world head-on! #NUS #MComp #DigitalTransformation #CyberResiliency #TechnologyRisk #FinTechSG

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Singapore publishes it's National AML Strategy. It's been much awaited in light of mega ML case of last year. Over 3 billion dollars in financial and physical assets had been uncovered and seized Singapore police in one of the biggest ML cases of recent times. NAML Strategy is based on 3 pillars: 1. Prevent 2. Detect 3. Enforce Singapore continues to upgrade it's defences against money laundering to deal with new and emerging risks and threats. #aml #climaterisk #esg #financialfraud #singapore #mofsingapore https://lnkd.in/gnaetXzN

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My mentor once said that success is like navigating a maze; it requires trial, error, and a lot of guesswork. At the time, I remember thinking, “Really?” Growing up in risk-averse Singapore, we’re always taught to study hard, get good grades, and secure a stable, high-paying job. But life isn’t as straightforward as that. ✨ That advice stayed with me, and over the last two decades, I’ve come to realize just how true it is. Success isn’t always about taking the safest route — it’s about embracing uncertainty and the growth that comes with it. The question isn’t just, “What happens if I take this risk?” but “What happens if I never do?” 💡 As a young professional, I decided to heed my mentor’s advice and step into the unknown. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t always smooth, but those risks brought me to where I am today. Now, as I help my team navigate their own challenges, I find myself passing on this same advice: true growth comes from taking chances. Through mentorship, I’ve learned three important lessons: 🌟Mentorship helps you see beyond your comfort zone: Having someone push you to take risks helps unlock potential you didn’t even realize you had. 🌟It provides invaluable perspectives: A mentor doesn’t just guide you through challenges — they offer insights that broaden your view, allowing you to approach decisions with more clarity and confidence. 🌟It fosters mutual growth: Mentoring others is just as rewarding as being mentored. By helping someone else grow, you deepen your own understanding and develop new perspectives. Mentorship is a two-way street. Whether you seek a mentor or become one, the exchange of knowledge and growth is invaluable. The biggest reward lies in taking the leap, trusting in the process, and growing together. 🚀 #MentorshipMatters #Leadership #GrowthMindset #RiskAndReward #Empowerment #PersonalDevelopment #finexisadvisory

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Anti-Money Laundering & Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) is a vast and complex topic. In a recent 4-hour webinar on AML/CFT key considerations which I developed and delivered, I virtually met professionals, vice president and deputy GM of organisations from various reporting institutions. In a short space of time, I guided participants as we delved into: 🗝 Corruption as one of the top high risk crimes posing money laundering and terrorism financing threats 🗝 Detection and prevention strategies 🗝 Regulatory regimes and the cost of compliance 🗝 Compliance officers and their AML mantle 🗝 Commitment to AML from the top echelon of the organisation 🗝 The gamut of penalties 🔑 Emerging money-laundering risks In this highly engaging session, here is a sample of the feedback I received: ✅ Fruitful and best experience on the training ✅ Course was well-delivered for its purpose ✅ Speaker was very articulate & knowledgeable on the topics covered ✅ It was good and gained experience from the Trainer Thank you to everyone who was a part of this lively training session! Reach out if you'd like to learn more about anti-money laundering ~ send me a message 🙂 Do you need AML compliance and advisory? You've come to the right place! At RC Compliance Sdn. Bhd., we provide compliance advisory and consulting that meets regulatory requirements. We have the skillset to train all employee levels right up to senior management, C-Suite and Directors. Contact me today for your AML, compliance and training needs: [email protected] Waiting to hear from you! #compliance #antimoneylaundering #integrity #training

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Here's my 2024 LinkedIn Rewind, by Coauthor.studio: Building a world-class audit function during Superbank's digital revolution wasn't just about processes—it was about becoming innovation's strategic enabler. 2024 was the year we proved that robust risk management doesn't slow digital transformation; it accelerates it. When we integrated Superbank's services directly into the Grab app, Our audit team wasn't just a compliance checkpoint—we were the catalysts for secure, seamless digital banking Our most significant achievements weren't just technical; they were transformational: - Established Superbank's IT Audit function from scratch, creating a blueprint for digital banking risk management - Supported Indonesia's first direct bank integration with Grab, ensuring every innovation met the highest security standards - Maintained audit excellence while enabling our bank's most ambitious digital leap Two posts that captured our journey: "Superbank's Grand Launch and Digital Integration": Proving that "Superbank is the first bank in Indonesia to offer digital services integrated directly in the Grab app!" was more than a statement—it was a strategic breakthrough. https://lnkd.in/g7jWxmHW "Building Internal Audit Team From Scratch": Demonstrating that our team could ask, "Are you ready to embark on a thrilling journey in the world of digital banking?" https://lnkd.in/gf_mvHjG A special acknowledgment to my incredible team: Christine Arya, Chitarani Kartikadewi and every team member who turned risk management into a strategic advantage. Your commitment transformed audit from a cost center to an innovation catalyst. Looking ahead to 2025: We'll continue proving that world-class audit isn't about limitation—it's about creating the guardrails that let innovation race forward safely. To my fellow risk and audit professionals: Our role isn't just protection. We're the strategic partners making bold digital transformation possible. #InternalAudit #DigitalTransformation #Fintech #RiskManagement #LinkedInRewind #Coauthor #2024wrapped -- Get your 2024 LinkedIn Rewind! Go to coauthor.studio

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As we are approaching the end of 2024, it's time to reflect on the troubling trends in phishing and digital scams that have emerged this year, both in Hong Kong and globally. Here are the key observations 🎣 : 🔴 Impersonating organizations such as Mannings, HKeToll, CLP, Octopus, CSL, YUU, and SF Express to deceive the public with fraudulent SMS messages 🔴 Promoting dog meat sales to entice the public into downloading malicious mobile applications 🔴 Running impersonation scams involving Chinese services such as Tencent, WeChat, and UnionPay, pressuring victims to make money transfers 🔴 Conducting deepfake video conference scams involving a fake "CFO" from a multinational firm tricking the employee into transferring millions of dollars 🔴 Posing as CrowdStrike support in phishing emails to distribute malware and impersonating staff in phone calls to carry out scams 🔴 Distributing malicious documents disguised as job descriptions for fintech positions, targeting professionals via social media by sophisticated and government-backed actor 🔴 Sending phishing emails with fake MS 365 login pages to steal account credentials and delivering malicious MS Office attachments, incorporating the 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 technique 🔴 Utilizing spear-phishing emails containing malicious remote desktop protocol (RDP) files to gain unauthorized access to organizations' networks and access files stored on the networks 🔴 Leveraging well-known Google services like Calendar, Forms, Drawings, Meets, and Docs to execute various attacks 🔴 Mimicking the WhatsApp security center to conduct digital scams and prompt victims to enter sensitive information 🔴 Employing spear-phishing tactics with counterfeit DocuSign documents to compromise high-value credentials, granting access to sensitive data and systems 🔴 Exploiting Apple Stores' policies that allow third parties to pick up purchases, profiting from using stolen credit cards and second-hand stores Have a safe and secure Christmas 🎄 ahead. #Phishing #Scams #CyberSecurity #Intelligence #2024

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Not exactly fresh off the oven, but worth the read! 📄 Bank Negara Malaysia has rolled out the 2024 RMiT Exposure Draft to boost tech risk management and cyber resilience for financial institutions. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gsdqpSAE I’m particularly interested in Question #3, which explores CISO roles and responsibilities. Would love to hear thoughts from my industry connections—feel free to chip in! #cybersecurity #CISO #riskmanagement #BNM

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Level 3 CCSS certification for a crypto exchange provides assurance on the following: Security- robust safeguards are in place for funds and private keys mitigating risks of hacks or theft. Restriction - minimising risks via strict access controls and rigorous auditing hereby preventing unauthorised access. Preparedness - disaster recovery systems guarantee continuity and asset protection during emergency and unforseen events. https://lnkd.in/gEQU6Ntp

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