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A teenager has been arrested by the Police for his suspected involvement in a series of cheating cases.

Victims lost more than S$250,000

According to a press release issued by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), police reports were made about an alleged investment scam related to several bank accounts. Victims purportedly lost more than S$250,000.

The multiple police reports were first made between May and August 2020.

SPF said the victims had befriended unknown persons online, who purportedly introduced them to invest via online trading platforms.

The victims then received instructions to deposit their monies into specific bank accounts in order to make investments on the platforms.

It was only after depositing their monies did the victims realise the invested monies were lost or unable to be withdrawn.

Arrested on July 21

Through follow-up investigations, officers from the Woodlands Police Division identified the teenager believed to be the account holder of the specific bank accounts, and arrested him on July 21.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the teenager had allegedly opened and sold numerous bank accounts, while knowing that the bank accounts would be used for illicit gains.

The teenager will be charged in court on July 23 for three counts of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct: under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA).

Anyone found guilty of this offence can be fined up to S$500,000, or jailed up to 10 years, or both.

The Police urged anyone with information related to such scams to call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit information online via this website.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam hotline at 1800-722-6688.

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