A total of 46 men and 32 women, aged between 17 and 63, are being investigated for allegedly relinquishing their Singpass credentials to perpetuate scams, following an island-wide joint anti-scam enforcement operation conducted between 8 April 2024 and 15 April 2024.
During the operation, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and seven Police Land Divisions mounted simultaneous island-wide operations. They rounded the 78 persons for investigation, including ten who were placed under arrest. The Government Technology Agency staff co-located at the Commercial Affairs Department also supported the operation by providing information related to the investigation.
Preliminary investigations revealed that these individuals had allegedly facilitated the scams in several ways:
- Some subjects allegedly sold their Singpass credentials for S$10,000 each. The Singpass credentials were then misused to open new bank accounts and to register for new mobile phone lines. Most subjects would fail to receive the promised fees from the scammers.
- Other subjects were alleged to have provided others with the means of accessing their own Singpass account without having ascertained the identity of whom they granted the access to.
Legislation amendments to better enforce against scams
In 2023, the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Bill and the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Offences (Confiscation of Benefits) (Amendment) Bill were passed by Parliament. These amendments seek to deter individuals from enabling or facilitating the commission of criminal activities by others and also help protect citizens and businesses usingSingpass in their everyday transactions.
The new offences under the amended legislation came into effect on 8 February 2024, setting out guardrails for the usage of Singpass accounts and empowering the Police to act more effectively against those who blatantly ignore these guardrails.
Police investigations are ongoing. The offence of disclosing a user’s Singpass credentials to facilitate an offence under Section 8A of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 (CMA) carries an imprisonment term of up to three years, or fine, or both. The offence under Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 carries a fine of up to $5,000, or an imprisonment term of up to two years, or both. The offence of acquiring benefits from criminal conduct under Section 54(5) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 carries an imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.
The Police will spare no effort to track down cybercriminals responsible for perpetuating scams and will take tough enforcement actions against these perpetrators. To avoid being an accomplice in these crimes, members of the public should always reject seemingly attractive money-making opportunities promising fast and easy pay-outs for the use of their Singpass accounts. The Police would like to remind members of the public that individuals will be held accountable if they are found to be linked to such crimes.
The Police would like to caution members of the public not to disclose their Singpass credentials, passwords or 2FA details to unknown persons. Scammers can use these Singpass accounts to access a whole suite of digital facilities, including opening bank accounts, e-wallets and crypto accounts and registering for mobile phone lines, to perpetuate scams and other criminal activities.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline 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.
Annex A
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
18 April 2024 @ 7:25 PM