SINGAPORE – The police arrested 29 men and six women, aged 16 to 66, during a four-day operation targeting investment and job scams, as well as those who sell their Singpass accounts to fraudsters.
The suspects are among 255 individuals assisting with investigations, who are believed to be connected to about 1,200 cases involving more than $31 million, said the police on Sunday (March 27) in a statement.
During the islandwide operation – held in collaboration with local banks OCBC, DBS, Standard Chartered, HSBC and UOB from last Tuesday to Friday – police officers and the banks also successfully intervened in more than 150 cases of investment and job scams, after tracing victims from bank accounts that were flagged in scam reports.
The tracing was done by identifying those who had made transactions to scam-tainted accounts but had yet to contact the police or the banks to report that they had been scammed.
Members of the media were invited to observe the operation at the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) in Police Cantonment Complex last Thursday as officers rang scam victims to gather details for investigations.
In the investment scams, the scammers would claim to be financial professionals and cultivate victims via social media platforms, said the police after the operation.
“Once lured, the victims would be introduced to investment experts who claim to be sharing sure-win tips. Victims would be enticed by the promise of easy earnings and transfer their money to bank…
