Fifteen persons are under investigation for allegedly sharing their Singpass credentials and facilitating scams that led to losses of over $890,000.

The island-wide anti-scam enforcement operation was conducted between July 8 and 11, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Thursday (July 17).

Led by SPF and the Singpass Anti-Fraud Team, the joint operation resulted in six of the 15 individuals — five men and one woman — being arrested.

The six individuals, aged between 19 and 56, were arrested for offences under Section 8A of the Computer Misuse Act 1993.

According to the police, they relinquished their Singpass credentials which were allegedly used to open bank accounts that were subsequently implicated in a range of scams.

Based on preliminary investigations, the scams had been facilitated in various ways.

Some individuals allegedly sold their Singpass credentials, which were then used to open new bank accounts and register for new mobile phone lines.

Others allegedly gave unknown parties access to their Singpass accounts without verifying their identities.

Some also fell prey to fraudulent job offers or bogus investment schemes.

In such cases, scam operators convinced these individuals that Singpass access was necessary to set up employment profiles, verify their identities for job applications, or create investment accounts.

Investigations are ongoing.

If convicted, they will face a jail term of up to three years, a fine or both.

The police have reminded members of the public to protect their Singpass passwords or 2FA details from unknown people as they could be misused for illegal activities, and that they will be held accountable if found to be linked to such crimes.

Members of the public may report scams via the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.

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dana.leong@asiaone.com

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