Out of the 71 illegal changes that were successful, the suspects continued to take over 16 Singpass balances by requesting a new password be mailed to the new address.
Ms. Sun stated that the Singapore Police Force is working with government organizations and private individuals to stop or prevent any fraudulent activity emanating from these 16 Singpass accounts that have been compromised.
Police may work with organizations and financial organizations to minimize the losses, she said, “if there have been financial losses arising from the damaged Singpass accounts.”
After an additional security measure known as face confirmation was implemented for those seeking to alter their own personal addresses, ICA’s online service has largely resumed since January 14.
The other two options to modify addresses via the “others” and “myself and my home” modules will be suspended until extra security measures are in place, according to Ms. Sun.
In relation to the event, thirteen offenders have been detained so much, and four men have been charged with a crime in connection with the Computer Misuse Act 1993.
For these offences, the sentence for a first-time criminal is a prison term of up to three years, a fine of up to S$ 10, 000 ( US$ 7, 300), or both.
As its examinations progress further, the police will release additional information in due course, according to Ms. Sun.
Ms. Sun said that a assessment is being conducted in response to a problem from PAP-Tanjong Pagar Member of Parliament about whether ICA could have acted sooner by suspending its online services.
She noted that ICA began its examinations in September 2024 after receiving numerous reports of illegal change of address.
” First, the cases appeared related. She claimed that it took time to gather information from various studies and gather it together.
By December, ICA’s studies had established how the unapproved alterations were carried out and what purposes they served.
ICA was also looking into the technical components of improving the stability of its online support. It made the decision to dismiss the online services on January 11 following an internal review.
In retrospect, ICA may have taken action to end the service when the modus operandi was established earlier in December of this year, but these are decisions public officials must make every day, according to Ms. Sun.
According to the statement,” The Ministry of Home Affairs is reviewing with ICA what classes can we learn from this affair.”