SINGAPORE - Scam cases involving fraudulent subscription of mobile lines increased by more than seven times in the first half of 2018, compared with the same period last year.

From January to June this year, 77 cases of fraudulent subscription of mobile lines were recorded with the police, with the amount cheated totalling more than $83,000.

Such cases involve people who were cheated into signing up for handsets and mobile lines for others. This was usually done for a commission.

In comparison, 10 such cases were reported between January to June 2017, said the police in an answer to queries from The Straits Times. In that year, 77 people were victims to such scams.

A post on the Singapore Police Force's Facebook page on Tuesday morning (Nov 27) said: "The victims were made to pay all the charges on the line including charges for line cancellation, which can amount to more than $1,000, after the scammer disappeared."

For scam-related advice, the police said members of the public could call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 or go to the website http://www.scamalert.sg/.

A similar case reported in ST last October involved a man and his accomplices, who cheated some 50 people of 101 electronic devices over 11 months from December 2014 to November 2015.

The scam involved convincing people to sign up for mobile subscription plans and obtaining the subsidised devices on the man's behalf.

His victims were told that they would receive a payment for their help and would not have to worry about paying the monthly telco bills or other sign-up costs.

However, after handing over the devices, many of the victims found that they were still on the hook for the bills.