The Police have arrested a 19-year-old man for his suspected involvement in online scams.
Between October 2015 and January 2016, Police have received multiple reports involving more than 25 victims who have purportedly been cheated while responding to online job offers.
Upon receiving these reports, officers from Ang Mo Kio Division conducted extensive enquires immediately. Through preliminary investigations, it was established that the victims had responded to the 19-year-old male suspects offer and provided their handphone numbers. Eventually, the victims would receive a text requiring their acknowledgement for the purchase of online gaming credits shortly after. When contacted, the suspect explained that the victims would be paid by acknowledging these messages and no charges would be billed to them. Acting on further instructions, the victims would then forward the confirmation SMS with a pin code to the suspect after acknowledging the initial text. After which, the suspect became uncontactable. It is believed that the suspect then sold off the game credits using the pin codes provided by the victims. The victims were subsequently notified of the game credit charges through their phone bills much later. An estimated $14,000 was believed to have been cheated by the suspect.
Through close collaboration with the Commercial Affairs Department and Technology Crime Investigation Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department, the suspect was arrested along Kay Siang Road on 11 January 2016 at about 2 pm by Ang Mo Kio Division officers. Several mobile phones, SIM cards, bank tokens and cash amounting to S$7500/- were seized from the suspect as case exhibits.
The suspect will be charged in Court on 13 January 2016 with an offence of Cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment and fine.
Commander of Ang Mo Kio Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police (AC) Lian Ghim Hua said, I would like to commend the officers for their good investigative work which resulted in the arrest of the suspect. Members of public are advised to be wary of online advertisements where deals might appear to be too good to be true. Personal information also should not be offered to strangers. The Police will not hesitate to come down hard on those who involved in scams.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
12 January 2016 @ 7:30 PM