SINGAPORE - Eighteen Singaporeans aged between 16 and 47 have been arrested in a two-day operation to clamp down on online scams.

Police, who ended the operation on Wednesday morning, believe the locals were working as money mules who transferred the proceeds of the scams to the overseas syndicates operating them.

Another 18 suspected money mules were arrested between January and July this year in relation to online purchase cons.

The scammers usually pose as sellers of electronic gadgets, such as smartphones, and cheat victims by failing to deliver the goods purchased. They then ask for further payments on the pretext that delivery orders have been mixed up.

Victims typically agree to the request for further payment but end up not receiving the items.

Police said none of the victims have managed to recover their money and added that online scams are a key crime concern.

Around 300 online purchase scams, involving $237,000 in total, were reported in the first six months of this year, up from 13 cases involving $28,000 last year.