A 15-year-old is among 316 individuals currently under investigation by Singapore police for suspected involvement in over 1,100 scams, which have collectively resulted in losses exceeding S$8.5 million. The police announced the operation on November 24, 2023, detailing that the scams included a range of fraudulent activities such as job scams, malware-enabled scams, phishing, internet love scams, and e-commerce scams.

The suspects, comprising 229 men and 87 women aged between 15 and 73, were apprehended during a two-week operation conducted from November 10 to November 23. The police are investigating these individuals for offenses related to cheating, money laundering, or providing payment services without a license.

The penalties for these offenses are severe: cheating can lead to a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine; money laundering offenses carry a potential jail term of up to 10 years, along with fines up to S$500,000 or both; while providing unlicensed payment services can result in up to three years of imprisonment and fines of up to S$125,000 or both.

This operation underscores the Singaporean authorities’ ongoing efforts to combat the rising tide of scams in the country.