3 More People Nabbed Over Suspected Fake Bulk Order Scam in Singapore

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) announced on Friday, September 19, that three more people had been arrested for allegedly participating in fraudulent bulk order schemes where scammers pretended to be Singaporean military personnel.

The three suspects, who ranged in age from 17 to 28, were taken into custody on Thursday and Friday during concurrent raids in the areas of Bukit Batok West, Fernvale Lane, and Northshore Drive by police officers from the Central Police Division and the Commercial Affairs Department's Anti-Scam Command.

SPF said in a press release, "Preliminary investigations revealed that the trio had allegedly acted on instructions of a scam syndicate to facilitate the perpetration of this scam variant."

"The 28-year-old man had allegedly relinquished his Singpass credentials to the scam syndicate for monetary gains, while (a) 17-year-old female teenager and (a) 21-year-old man had assisted unknown individuals to subscribe to phone lines," the authority added.

"Some of these lines were found to be linked to scam cases of this variant."

The police investigations are still going on.

Scammers posing as SAF employees have recently targeted a number of Singaporean companies with fictitious bulk orders.

On September 16, SPF announced that three individuals, ages 16 to 31, had been taken into custody on suspicion of participating in these frauds.

Next day, a 22-year-old woman connected to the fake orders was charged in court.

According to Section 8A of the Computer Misuse Act, divulging one's Singpass credentials in order to enable an offense is punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine, or both.

Those who intentionally give someone else a SIM card that has been fraudulently registered in order to help them commit a crime for personal benefit risk up to three years in prison, a fine of up to S$10,000 (US$7,780), or both.