A 39-year-old man will be charged in court on 27 June 2024 for his alleged involvement in the following offences:
- One count of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51(1)(a) punishable under Section 51(5)(a) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $500,000, or both;
- 23 counts of abetment by conspiracy to commit cheating under Section 420 read with Section 109 and Section 108B of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine;
- One count of abetment by conspiracy to obstruct the course of justice under Section 204A(b) read with Section 109 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 7 years, a fine, or both; and
- Two counts of abetment by conspiracy to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating under Section 468 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine.
Between November 2023 and January 2024, the Police received multiple reports from victims who have discovered fraudulent transactions on their bank cards, with losses amounting to more than S$25,900.
Some of these victims recall receiving either a SMS or an email requiring additional payment to facilitate the delivery of their online purchases. The text messages or emails appear to be sent by SingPost to arrange for further attempt to deliver the items and for the customer to pay a nominal sum by debit/credit card to effect redelivery. Victims were led to input their bank card details on spoofed SingPost website via phishing link.
Investigations revealed that the 39-year-old man had allegedly entered into an arrangement with a 29-year-old woman to procure point-of-sales (“POS”) terminals for a transnational criminal syndicate. To evade detection, the woman allegedly enlisted the services of a business consultancy company to source for the POS terminals to rent. The POS terminals were then handed over to the syndicate which allowed fraudulent card transactions to be made on these POS terminals. These fraudulent transactions were eventually billed to the victims’ accounts. At least two Singapore bank accounts were used to launder the proceeds from these transactions.
The 39-year-old man and the 29-year-old woman are alleged to have conspired to obstruct the course of justice and to forge electronic records with the intention of misleading investigations. The 29-year-old woman was charged on 14 June 2024 for her role in the case.
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. The Police would like to remind members of the public that individuals will be held accountable if they allow their personal or company bank accounts to be used to receive and transfer moneys found to be criminal proceeds, or if they facilitate such arrangements.
If you receive or are asked to receive funds from unknown or dubious sources, please contact 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/i-witness.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
26 June 2024 @ 9:30 PM