Five men and two women, aged between 19 and 52, will be charged in court on 11 January 2024 for their suspected involvement in money mule activities, which include cheating and facilitating unauthorised access to computer materials.
These individuals have allegedly sold or rented their bank accounts to criminal syndicates for as much as $3,000. They have purportedly deceived banks into opening bank accounts before handing over the ATM cards and iBanking PINs to the criminal syndicates. Two men, aged 27 and 44, have also allegedly sold their SingPass credentials to criminal syndicates to create new bank accounts.
The offence of cheating under Section 417 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term of up to three years and a fine. The offence of facilitating unauthorised access to computer material under Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 carries an imprisonment term of up to two years, a fine or both.
The Police take a serious view of these offences and will not hesitate to take action against individuals who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. To avoid being an accomplice to crime, members of the public should always reject seemingly attractive money-making opportunities promising pay-outs for the use of their Singpass account, bank accounts or allow their personal bank account to be used to receive and transfer money for others. 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 scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline 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.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
10 January 2024 @ 11:32 AM