157 suspected scammers, money mules linked to nearly 500 cases under probe
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The scams included Internet love scams, e-commerce scams and bank-related phishing scams, among others.
ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
SINGAPORE - Police are investigating 157 people for suspected involvement in scams or money mule operations.
The suspects - 97 men and 60 women aged between 16 and 71 - are believed to be involved in more than 495 scam cases where victims lost more than $2 million.
The cases cover Internet love, e-commerce, tech support, China or government official impersonation, investment, job, loan and bank-related phishing scams.
Those suspected were caught during a two-week islandwide enforcement operation between Jan 28 and Feb 10, police said in a statement on Friday (Feb 11).
They are being investigated for offences such as cheating, money laundering or providing payment services without a licence.
Those found guilty of cheating can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
Those found guilty of money laundering can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.
Those who are found to be carrying on a business to provide any type of payment service without a licence can be fined up to $125,000, jailed for up to three years, or both.
"Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law," said the statement.
Police advised members of the public to reject requests by others to use their bank account or mobile phone line as they will be held accountable if the people making these requests are linked to crimes.
Scam victims in Singapore have lost nearly $1 billion since 2016.
In January, it was reported that the OCBC phishing scams that started in December 2021 resulted in losses amounting to $13.7 million.
The scams involved SMS messages impersonating OCBC staff. A total of 790 victims were duped.
Singapore police arrested and investigated more than 7,000 scammers and money mules last year.
Some of them were believed to have rented out their bank accounts to scammers or assisted them by carrying out bank transfers and withdrawals.
For more information on scams, people can visit this website or call the Anti-Scam Hotline on 1800-722-6688.
Anyone with information on such scams may call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit it online.
