Three men aged between 21 and 28 will be charged in court on Saturday (June 28) for their suspected involvement in money laundering and unauthorised access to computer material, in a case that involved the selling of Pokemon trading cards.

In a press release on Saturday (June 28), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said: "Between May and June 2025, the police received several reports from victims who were cheated by an online seller who was selling Pokemon trading cards on Carousell. After the victims made payment via bank transfers, they did not receive the said trading cards. 

"When questioned, the seller claimed he was in a business venture with another supplier who did not honour the transactions upon receiving payments."

Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department conducted follow-up investigations and discovered the identities of the supplier and two accomplices, and arrested them on June 26 and 27, SPF said. 

The police believe the men have been involved in more than 50 similar scams, cheating victims out of at least $57,000.

One man, 26, will be charged under Section 55A(1)(a)(i) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 "with the offence of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct". 

It is punishable by a prison term of up to three years and/or a fine not exceeding $50,000.

The two others, aged 21 and 28, will be charged with "accessing without authority bank accounts belonging to separate individual to withdraw payments" under Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1993. 

They can be imprisoned for up to two years and/or pay a fine of up to $5,000.

Between January and February 2025, at least 50 people had fallen victim to Pokemon card scams and had been cheated out of over $163,000.

Scammers would engage potential victims on Facebook or Carousell, before convincing them to move their conversations to WhatsApp or Telegram, SPF said on Feb 6.

The victims would then make payments via PayNow or bank transfers, and only realise they were scammed after the cards would fail to arrive or the sellers would cease communications with them.

In their recent statement, the SPF advised the public to only communicate with sellers within the apps and to conduct transactions in person so they can inspect products before making payment.

"Be wary of e-commerce scam red flags such as large discounts for faster transactions. Do not transfer money to anyone you do not know. Never disclose your personal information, internet banking or One-Time passwords to anyone," the SPF said.

They also encourage members of the public to download the ScamShield app on their phones to block and filter SMSes, and set up security features on payment methods. 

The public can also use official channels including the ScamShield app, their 24-hour hotline at 1799 and their website at scamshield.gov.sg to check for signs of scams, or discuss with a trusted person.

SPF also recommends reporting suspicious listings or user profiles to Carousell or Facebook through their in-app reporting functions.

If someone suspects that they have been scammed, they should call their banks to report and block fraudulent transactions as well as lodge a police report.

drimac@asiaone.com

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