PUBLISHED ONMarch 26, 2026 2:25 PMBYSean LerA total of 142 men and 66 women, including a 15-year-old teenager, are under investigation following a two-week long operation between March 12 and 25, the police said in a statement on Thursday (March 26).
The operation involved officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and the seven police land divisions, and resulted in investigations into the 208 people aged between 15 and 77 for their suspected roles in scams as scammers or money mules.
The suspects are allegedly involved in over 720 cases of scams where victims reportedly lost more than $6.12 million.
These cases comprise mostly e-commerce scams, friend impersonations scams, job scams, government official impersonation scams, investment scams and rental scams.
The 208 alleged scammers and money mules are being investigated for the offences of cheating, money laundering, or providing payment services without a licence.
If found guilty of cheating, an offender faces a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine, while those convicted of money laundering may be jailed for up to 10 years and/or fined up to $500,000.
Carrying on a business to provide any type of payment service without a licence may result in a fine of up to $125,000, a jail term for up to three years, or both.
Additionally, scammers as well as members or recruiters of scam syndicates will also face mandatory caning of at least six strokes and up to 24, as part of amendments to the law which took effect on December 30, 2025.
Scam mules who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds, providing SIM cards and providing SingPass credentials may face up to 12 strokes of the cane.
The police also stressed that those found linked to such crimes will be held accountable, and individuals involved in mule-related offences may face restrictions to their banking services and mobile line subscriptions to prevent further scams.
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