Six men and two women aged between 17 and 28 will be charged in court on 24 June 2022 for their suspected involvement in knowingly disclosing their Singpass User IDs, Passwords and One-Time-Passwords (OTPs) to unknown persons, for monetary gains.
The Singpass accounts were used by criminals to open bank accounts to launder proceeds of crime derived from the recent spate of DBS Phishing scams where more than 60 victims had fallen prey to, and suffered financial losses amounting to more than $60,000. Three of the men to be charged had also allegedly deleted communications records that were relevant for investigations, and will be charged with an additional offence of intentionally obstructing the course of justice each.
Investigations revealed that these individuals purportedly relinquished their Singpass credentials for promised monetary gains between $150 and $1,500. Some of them did not receive any monetary benefits as the recipients of their credentials turned evasive after successfully opening the bank accounts.
The offence of, knowingly and without authority, disclosing any password, access code or any other means of gaining access to any program or data held in any computer under Section 8(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 carries an imprisonment term not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding $10,000, or both, for first-time offenders; and an imprisonment term not exceeding five years and a fine not exceeding $20,000, or both, for subsequent convictions. The offence of intentionally obstructing, preventing, perverting or defeating the course of justice under Section 204A of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term not exceeding seven years and a fine, or both.
The Police take a serious view of these offences and will not hesitate to take action against any individuals who may be involved in scams. To avoid being involved in scam activities, members of the public should always reject seemingly attractive money-making opportunities promising pay-outs for the use of their Singpass account, bank account or mobile lines. The Police would like to remind members of the public that individuals will be held accountable if they are found to be linked to such crimes.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
24 June 2022 @ 9:55 PM