In an island-wide anti-scam enforcement operation conducted on 2 March 2022, the Commercial Affairs Department arrested three men and one woman, aged between 21 and 25, for their suspected involvement in perpetrating Ponzi-like job scams involving bogus companies. Another three women, aged between 22 and 40, are also being investigated for their suspected involvement in the job scams.
Between December 2021 and February 2022, the Police received several reports where the victims received unsolicited Whatsapp messages, Facebook or Telegram posts on advertisements promoting highly paid part-time affiliate marketing related jobs. The scammers allegedly offered fake online jobs which required the victims to complete easy tasks such as making online purchases.
In order to perform more job tasks and earn their commission, the victims were directed to recruit more members to upgrade their membership status. In most cases, the victims were convinced that it was a legitimate job as they would receive commissions and profit during the early stages of their memberships. Victims would then realise that they had been scammed when they did not receive further commissions or were unable to make withdrawals from their member accounts.
During the operation, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department mounted simultaneous island-wide operations and arrested the three men and one woman. Preliminary investigations revealed that the bogus companies were believed to be running Ponzi-like schemes where the new job seekers’ money are used to pay the promised commissions to existing job holders. The four persons are believed to have facilitated in the schemes by opening corporate and personal bank accounts and had allegedly rented out or sold their bank accounts to the scammers.
A 22-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman will be charged in court on 7 March 2022 with the offence of abetting the entering of an arrangement to facilitate the benefits of criminal conduct under Section 44(1)(a) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 punishable under Section 44(5)(a) of the said Act. Investigations against the other two men and three women are ongoing.
The Police would like to caution job seekers to be wary of online job advertisements that promise the convenience of working from home and being paid a high salary for relatively simple job responsibilities. Legitimate businesses will not require job seekers to utilise their own bank accounts to receive money on the businesses’ behalf or to make upfront payments to secure the job offers and earn commissions. These acts are common ruses used by scammers to lure individuals into participating in their schemes or scams. To avoid being involved in money laundering activities, members of the public should always reject requests to use their personal bank accounts to receive and transfer money for others.
The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- Be wary of the use of foreign numbers while hiring for a Singapore office;
- Avoid making upfront payment to bank accounts belonging to unknown individuals;
- Always verify the authenticity of the calls or the caller’s intent with the official websites or sources. You may do so by contacting the companies who claim to be hiring; and
- Report and block the WhatsApp number via the in-platform reporting function.
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.
Screenshots of mobile applications of bogus companies
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
06 March 2022 @ 2:50 PM