Fantastic Scams and Where to Find Them

Synopsis of the Talk

Scams are the fast-growing area of crime in Singapore. Criminals, like everyone else, have had to innovate and go online due to pandemic restrictions. Love scams, sex scams, e-commerce scams, loan scams, police impersonation scams – there’s really no end to their creativity. And anyone can be a victim. 

Learn how not to fall prey to these scams and also about the law enforcement framework that governs this fast-growing area of criminal law in this 1-hour talk. We will cover the nature of cheating offences, the cheating ecosystem (including money laundering and the role of cryptocurrencies) and police investigations.

Speaker’s Biodata

Mr Alexander Joseph Woon is currently Provost’s Chair and Lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, School of Law, with a focus on criminal law, evidence and procedure, and technology and the law. 

Alex was previously a Deputy Public Prosecutor/State Counsel with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (“AGC”), Financial and Technology Crime Division, concurrently appointed to the Technology Crime Unit.

He prosecuted a wide variety of crimes including corruption, white collar crime, technology crime, maid abuse, intellectual property crime, and homicide. He also advised the Government on a variety of legal issues related to criminal law. He specialises in white collar and technology crime.

Alex was also part of the AGC team that led evidence before the Committee of Inquiry into the SingHealth Cyberattack in 2018. 

Subsequently, Alex then joined the Office of Transformation and Innovation (Judiciary). As Deputy Director, Alex was part of the team overseeing transformation efforts across Singapore’s judiciary, comprising the Supreme Court, State Courts, and Family Justice Courts. He was involved in legal strategy and law reform initiatives, culture and capacity building for legal innovation, and the development of LegalTech products – including the Authentic Court Orders website, the SG Courts mobile app, and the new Singapore Courts integrated website.