SINGAPORE: Twelve people were arrested in Malaysia after they were suspected to be involved in a scam syndicate targeting Singaporeans, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Sunday (Feb 19).
Another 14 people in Singapore were arrested or investigated by SPF for aiding the syndicate by laundering criminal proceeds in Singapore.
Officers of the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) raided three apartment complexes in Johor on Feb 10, arresting 12 Malaysians aged between 16 and 27.
They were thought to be involved in a fake friend call scam targeting Singaporeans.
Preliminary investigations revealed the syndicate started its scam operations in December last year and used Singapore prepaid SIM cards to make calls to victims in Singapore.
“The syndicate is believed to be involved in more than 360 reports, with total losses of more than S$1.3 million,” said SPF.
At the same time as the raids in Johor, SPF officers arrested or investigated 14 people, aged between 18 and 46, for allegedly helping the syndicate by laundering money.
They are suspected to have handed over their personal bank accounts or relinquished their Singpass accounts to the scammers.
SPF said the joint operation between both police forces “crippled one transnational scam syndicate”.
“The SPF and RMP collaborated and shared critical intelligence and information on the identities and operations of the criminal syndicate,” said Singapore police.
“The enquiries, analysis and collaboration paid off when the Malaysian criminal syndicate that was operating in Johor Bahru, Malaysia was located.”
Since January, more than 490 victims have fallen prey to the fake friend call scam, with total losses amounting to at least S$1.7 million.
The offence of facilitating unauthorised access to computer material under the Computer Misuse Act carries a jail term of up to two years, a fine, or both.
If found guilty of unauthorised disclosure of access code for wrongful gain or unlawful purpose under the same Act, a person can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.