The Police have arrested two men and two women, aged between 28 and 45, for their suspected involvement in a series of unauthorised online transactions using stolen credit card information.
On 17 April 2020, the Police received a report of unauthorised transactions made on a taxi booking phone application. Through investigations, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department established the identities of the four suspects and arrested them on 4 May 2020.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the two men are believed to have made unauthorised transactions on the taxi booking application amounting to more than $1,500, while the two women are believed to have taken the taxi rides booked using the unauthorised transactions. Between March and April 2020, the men are also believed to have also made unauthorised transactions amounting to more than $22,000 on another phone application of a local supermarket. A massage cushion, milk powder, personal apparels, several electrical appliances, mobile phones, prepaid SIM cards, CPUs and computer peripherals were seized as case exhibits.
The two men will be charged in court on 6 May 2020. The offence of unauthorised access to computer material under Section 3(1) of the Computer Misuse Act, Chapter 50A, carries a punishment of a fine not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or both. Investigations against the two women are ongoing.
The Police would like to remind members of the public that unauthorised use of another person’s credit/debit card is a serious offence and take a serious view against any person who commits fraud and the perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
The Police would like to advise all credit/debit card holders to call their card-issuing banks immediately if their credit/debit cards are lost or stolen, and to adopt the following measures to prevent unauthorised use of their cards:
- Opt for an SMS notification to be sent to your mobile phone for any charges incurred on your credit/ debit card;
- Check bank statements and alert the bank immediately should there be any discrepancies or fraudulent charges; and
- Do not give out your credit/debit card information to strangers.
Case Exhibits Seized
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
05 May 2020 @ 10:50 PM