Singapore police said they 16 men and six women, aged between 14 and 61, are cooperating with the officers from Jurong Police Division in investigations related to several offences.
The investigation started after a three-day operation conducted from August 27 to August 29, as police is trying to identify the suspects, who are believed to be involved in 49 scams and commercial crime cases that include almost $297,000 transaction amount.
In a news release, published on Wednesday the police said that the suspects are either being investigated for cheating or money laundering, drug trafficking and other serious crimes.
Commander of Jurong Police Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police Devrajan Bala said, "I would like to commend the officers for the hard work in the identification and rounding up of the suspects in these cases."
"Members of the public are advised to be wary of online advertisements where deals might appear too good to be true. Take a serious view against any person who may be involved in scams, and those found perpetrating scams will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he further added.
- The police also advised people to take some required measures to avoid being a victim of such online scams: Do not share your personal information such as your identification number, bank account number, One-Time Passwords, or SMS-verification codes with anyone. Your personal information may be abused by scammers;
- Bear in mind that the party you are dealing with online is a stranger. Before performing a transaction, find out how the online site safeguards your interest or can help you resolve disputes;
- Buy goods from authorised dealers. If advanced payments are required, use shopping platforms that provide arrangements to only release your payment to the seller upon your receipt of the item; and
- Be mindful that although scammers may provide a copy of an Identification Card or Driver's licence to gain your trust, it may not necessarily belong to the person communicating with you online.
In addition, the police said people should always reject requests by others to use their bank account or handphone lines, as they will be accountable if investigators find any kind of illegal transactions from their accounts.
However, as per the law, if convicted for cheating, then the individual has to face a jail term up to 10 years and a fine. If anyone found guilty under Other Serious Crimes Act, he or she may face a punishment of imprisonment for up to 10 years and/or a fine of up to S$500,000.
If any member of the public needs more information on the scams they can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. In case of sharing information about any kind of scams, people are asked to call police at 1800-255 0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
