SINGAPORE - Promised a daily salary of $200 in a Facebook advertisement for a part-time data entry job, a 38-year-old woman became part of an unlicensed money transfer scheme.

On Tuesday (Nov 23), she was handed a three-week prison sentence after she pleaded guilty to providing a payment service without a licence.

The police said in a statement on Friday (Nov 26) that investigations found that the woman had operated a business providing a domestic money transfer service in May last year.

The statement added that she received $4,855 from 13 fund transfers into her bank account, and made seven outgoing transfers to another local bank account which amounted to $3,700 .

These were done on the instructions of an unknown individual who posted the Facebook job listing.

Of the money deposited in her account, $2,605 came from four victims of e-commerce cheating scams.

For operating a business of providing payment services without a licence, an individual can be fined up to $125,000, face a prison term of up to three years, or both.

The police are issuing an alert about scammers who recruit people to transfer money on their behalf.

Scammers may advertise jobs that allow individuals to work from home and offer attractive salaries for performing relatively easy tasks, such as using their bank account to receive and transfer money.

Individuals who receive or transfer money that is stolen or linked to crimes may be charged with committing a criminal offence.

The public is reminded that legitimate companies do not require the use of an individual's personal bank account to receive funds on their behalf. Any request to receive and transfer money for others using one's personal bank account should be rejected.

For more information on how to avoid scams, the public can visit Scam Alert's website or call the anti-scam hotline on 1800-722-6688.

The public can provide information on a crime by calling the police hotline 1800-255-0000, or via the Singapore Police Force's website.