Police probe 479 people, including 81 teenagers, for suspected scam involvement
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The scams involve malware-enabled, investment, Internet love, impersonation of government official, and phishing variants.
PHOTO: ST FILE
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SINGAPORE – A total of 479 suspected money mules and scammers were rounded up in a two-week operation for their alleged involvement in over 1,400 scam cases in which victims reportedly lost more than $9.6 million.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the police said on Friday that 81 of the suspects are teenagers. Of the 479 suspects aged between 13 and 77, 332 are men and 147 are women.
The scams include malware-enabled, investment, Internet love, impersonation of government official, and phishing variants.
The suspects are being investigated for the alleged offences of cheating, money laundering or providing payment services without a licence.
The operation was conducted between Sept 29 and last Thursday.
The offence of cheating carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine, while those convicted of money laundering can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $500,000, or both.
Operating a business to provide any type of payment service without a licence carries a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to $125,000, or both.
The police advise that in order to avoid being an accomplice to crime, people should reject requests by anyone to use their bank accounts or mobile lines, as they will be held accountable if these are linked to crimes.
According to the mid-year scam statistics that the police released in September, the number of victims grew in the first half of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022. But the amount lost fell.
A total of 22,339 scam cases were reported from January to June 2023, a 64.5 per cent rise from the 13,576 cases during the same period in 2022, while the losses dipped slightly to $334.5 million, from $342.1 million.
The public can go to www.scamalert.sg
