15-year-old among 316 investigated for suspected involvement in scams; S$8.5 million reportedly lost

A 15-YEAR-OLD teenager is among 316 people being investigated by the police for their suspected involvement in more than 1,100 scams as either scammers or money mules.

The scams – which include job scams, malware-enabled scams, phishing scams, Internet love scams and e-commerce scams – involved losses of more than S$8.5 million, the police said in a statement on Friday (Nov 24).

The 229 men and 87 women, between the ages of 15 and 73, were nabbed during a two-week operation conducted between Nov 10 and Nov 23.

The suspects are being investigated for the alleged offences of cheating, money laundering or providing payment services without a licence.

The offence of cheating carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine. Those convicted of money laundering can be jailed up to 10 years, fined up to S$500,000, or both.

Meanwhile, those convicted of carrying out unlicensed payment services can be jailed up to three years, fined up to S$125,000, or both.