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The Police have arrested four men and a female teenager, aged between 17 and 29, for their suspected involvement in a series of job scams involving fraudulently obtaining Singpass accounts.

Between March to May 2026, the Police have received 26 reports from victims who responded to job applications via Carousell, and were deceived into providing copies of their NRIC, changing their registered mobile phone numbers and email addresses of their Singpass accounts. This action allowed the scammers to take over control of the victims' Singpass accounts, and used the fraudulently obtained Singpass accounts to apply for accounts with financial institutions or for mobile phone services with telecommunication service providers. These applications were made without the victims' knowledge, although control of the Singpass accounts was returned to the victims on the same day.

Through follow-up investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command and Police Intelligence Department arrested the five persons involved on 1 July 2026. Preliminary investigations revealed that they had conspired with a scam syndicate based overseas to procure accounts with financial institutions in Singapore. They were coached to deceive victims into relinquishing access and control of their Singpass accounts under the guise of a job application.

The four men, aged between 22 and 29, will be charged in court on 2 July 2026 with the offence of obtaining any credential of another person under Section 8B(1)(a) of the Computer Misuse Act 1993. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to three years or a fine not exceeding S$10,000, or both. 

Investigations against the 17-year-old female teenager is ongoing. 

The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. Scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least six strokes, which can go up to 24 strokes.

Under the Facility Restriction Framework, individuals involved in mule-related offences – whether they are under investigation and assessed to be at risk, or have been warned, issued with composition sums, prosecuted, or convicted – may face restrictions on banking services and mobile line subscriptions to prevent further facilitation of scams.

The Police would like to remind members of the public that anyone found to be linked to such crimes will be held accountable. 

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield Helpline at 1799. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.