Between December 18 and December 31, 2021, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and the seven Police Land Divisions undertook a two-week operation against scams and relevant illegal activities.
The operation resulted in the investigations of 128 males and 76 women, aged 16 to 79.
They are currently assisting the authorities with the investigation of 1,500 scam cases, money laundering, and being a money mule.
These are the types of scam they are investigated for:
- Internet love scams
- e-commerce scams
- business email compromise scams
- tech support scams
- China/Government Officials impersonation scams
- investment scams
- job scams
- loan scams
The total amount of money involved in these scam cases is over SGD$6.4million.
Penalties
The offence of cheating carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine.
The offence of money laundering carries an imprisonment term not exceeding 10 years, a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both.Â
The offence of carrying on a business of providing any type of payment service in Singapore without a licence carries a fine not exceeding $125,000, an imprisonment term not exceeding three years, or both.
Always be vigilant
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.