34 suspected online cheats, money mules under investigation in Singapore

A total of 34 persons aged between 16 and 75 in Singapore are being investigated for their suspected involvement in various online scams, local TV Channel NewsAsia reported on Thursday.

Following an operation conducted between June 22 and 24, 24 men and 10 women are believed to be involved in 88 cases of online scams involving more than 165,000 Singapore dollars (123,134 U.S. dollars), the police was quoted as saying.

Some of the suspects are believed to have posed as online sellers of baby products or electronic gadgets, and did not deliver the products to buyers after receiving payment, said police. Others are believed to have been recruited from online job portals or social networking websites to become "Money Mules."

According to police, "Money Mules" describes those who have allowed their bank accounts to be used by criminal syndicates to receive and transfer money to and from unknown sources. In doing so, they would have assisted in the commission of an offense, police added.

The suspects will be investigated for the offense of cheating which carries a punishment of 10 years in jail and a fine, or money laundering offenses, which carry a punishment of imprisonment for up to 10 years and a fine of up to 500,000 Singapore dollars (373,000 U.S. dollars) as well.

Director of Commercial Affairs Department, David Chew, said: " Police take a serious view against those who intentionally use the online marketplace to commit crimes and will not hesitate to prosecute them. Account holders who are aware that their accounts are being used to transfer proceeds of crime will also be taken to task for money laundering." Endi