A 15-year-old teen was among 268 people being investigated by police for their suspected involvement in scams totalling over $4.66 million.
Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and seven police land divisions conducted a two-week operation between Nov 21 and Dec 4, the police said on Thursday (Dec 4).
The 91 women and 177 men, aged between 15 and 78, are suspected of being scammers or money mules. They are believed to be involved in more than 800 cases of scams, mainly comprising e-commerce scams, friend impersonation scams, job scams, government official impersonation scams, investment scams and rental scams.
They are being investigated for alleged offences of cheating, money laundering and providing payment services without a licence. So many types of scams sia!
This latest operation comes right after another two-week operation conducted between Nov 7 and 20, during which 250 people were asked to assist in police investigations.
The penalties are quite heavy leh. Under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871, the offence of cheating carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine. Money laundering can get you up to 10 years in jail, a fine of up to $500,000, or both. Providing payment services without a licence can result in a fine of up to $125,000, a jail term of up to three years, or both.
And it’s going to get even more serious – Parliament passed amendments on Nov 4 that will see scammers subjected to mandatory caning. Under the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, scammers and those who recruit or participate in scam syndicates face between six and 24 strokes of the cane.
For more information on scams, visit scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield helpline at 1799. If you have information about scams, call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at police.gov.sg/i-witness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
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