Three men, aged between 17 and 22, will be charged in court on 29 July 2022 for their suspected involvement in money laundering activities.
Between July 2021 and February 2022, the three men had allegedly responded to a Telegram message to disclose their User IDs and Passwords of their Singpass accounts to unknown persons for monetary gains and for cheating banks into opening bank accounts. These newly opened bank accounts were then given over to unknown persons to enable unauthorised access to the banks’ computer material. The Singpass accounts were used by criminals to open bank accounts online.
These compromised bank accounts were employed to launder proceeds of crime derived from various scams. At least eight persons became victims in these scams, and a total of more than $500,000 were lost.
The three men are believed to have been promised amounts ranging from $200 to $2,000 each, in return for giving up their internet-banking login credentials and Singpass credentials to the unknown parties.
The offence of unauthorised disclosure of access code, under Section 8 of the Computer Misuse Act 1993, carries an imprisonment term of up to three years and fined up to $10,000, or both, for first-time offenders. For repeat offenders, the imprisonment term can go up to five years and fined up to $20,000, or both.
The offence of unauthorised access to computer material under Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 an imprisonment term not exceeding two years and fined up to $5,000, or both. For repeat offenders, the imprisonment term can go up to three years and fined up to $10,000, or both.
The offence of Cheating under Section 417 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term of up to three years, or fine, or with both.
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. To avoid being an accomplice in these crimes, members of the public should always reject seemingly attractive money-making opportunities promising fast and easy pay-outs for the use of their Singpass accounts, bank accounts or for allowing their personal accounts to be used to receive and transfer money for others. Remember that you will be held accountable if these are linked to 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
28 July 2022 @ 8:10 PM