Two men, aged 23 and 29, will be charged in court on 2 November 2022 for allegedly acting as money mules by allowing their bank accounts to be used to receive criminal proceeds from a China Officials Impersonation Scam.
On 4 February 2022, the Police received a report from a victim that she had fallen prey to a China Officials Impersonation Scam.
Police investigations revealed that the 23-year-old man had allegedly been engaged by the 29-year-old man to sell his bank account for monetary benefits. The 29-year-old man is believed to have facilitated the sale of the 23-year-old man’s bank account, and cheated the banks into opening bank accounts so as to hand over the control of the bank accounts’ Internet banking facility to the criminal syndicate, for the promise of monetary gains.
For conspiring to cheat the bank into opening the bank account, the offence under Section 417 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term not exceeding three years, a fine, or both. For abetting unknown persons to secure unauthorised access to the bank’s computer system, the offence under Section 3(1) read with Section 12 and Section 14 of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 carries a fine not exceeding $5,000, an imprisonment term not exceeding two years, or both, for a first-time offender.
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 to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others to use your bank account or mobile lines as you will be held accountable if these are linked to crimes.