Police investigating 479 people over suspected involvement as scammers, money mules

THE police are investigating a total of 479 people for their suspected involvement in more than 1,400 cases of scams, where victims reportedly lost more than S$9.6 million.

The 332 men and 147 women, aged between 13 and 77, were caught by the police during a two-week operation between Sep 29 and Oct 19. They are assisting in investigations for their suspected involvement as scammers or money mules.

“The suspects are believed to be involved in more than 1,400 cases of scams, comprising mainly job scams, malware-enabled scams, investment scams, Internet love scams, government officials impersonation scams and phishing scams,” said the police in a press release on Friday (Oct 20). The suspects are also being investigated for the alleged offences of cheating, money laundering or providing payment services without a licence, the statement added.

For cheating offences, one faces an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871.

The Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 prescribes a maximum punishment of an imprisonment term of 10 years and a fine of S$500,000 for money laundering offences.

Section 5 of the Payment Services Act 2019 stipulates that the offence of providing any type of payment service without a licence carries a fine of S$125,000 or imprisonment term of up to three years.