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The Police have arrested 11 men and two women, aged between 19 and 31, for their suspected involvement in providing fraudulently registered postpaid SIM cards for monetary gains. They will be charged in court between 20 July 2026 and 24 July 2026. 

Preliminary investigations revealed that the 13 persons were offered cash rewards between $10 and $30 per registered SIM card. Each of these subscribers had allegedly handed over multiple SIM cards, registered under their names, to the criminal syndicate. These subscribers were allegedly instructed to sign up and purchase SIM cards in bulk across different retailers before handing them over to their couriers. 

The offence of knowingly providing a fraudulently registered SIM card to another person to facilitate a crime for any gain, under Section 39B(1) read with 39B(2)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act 1906, carries a fine  of up to $10,000, or imprisonment term of up to three years, or both.

The Police take a serious view of SIM cards being misused as a conduit for crimes and will not hesitate to take action against individuals who fraudulently register additional SIM cards without authorisation, their eSIM/SIM card via reselling, allowing others to use their SIM cards, helping other individuals to register or holding multiple SIM cards without a legitimate reason. Criminal syndicates have been exploiting local SIM cards as a channel of communication for scams, unlicensed moneylending and vice, among other illicit activities. Anyone found to be linked to such crimes will be held accountable. 

Under the Facility Restriction Framework, individuals involved in such 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 be prohibited from subscribing to new mobile lines to prevent further facilitation of scams.

Scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least six strokes, which can go up to 24 strokes. Scam mules who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds, providing SIM cards and providing Singpass credentials will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes. These include certain money-laundering offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act; Singpass offences under the Computer Misuse Act; and certain SIM-card offences under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act.

For more information on misuse of SIM cards, members of the public can visit Misuse of SIM Card Offences (https://www.police.gov.sg/Knowledge-Hub/Legislation/Misuse-of-SIM-Card-Offences). Members of the public can also call the Police Hotline at 1800- 255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness if they suspect or know of anyone who could be involved in the fraudulent registration of SIM cards.