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Singapore
File photo of a Singpass user. (Photo: GovTech)
06 Oct 2023 01:23PM (Updated: 06 Oct 2023 01:26PM)
SINGAPORE: A 20-year-old man agreed to give up the details of his Singpass account in exchange for S$8,000 (US$5,850).
While he never received the amount, his account was used to open two bank accounts, which were used to launder about S$220,000 in scam proceeds.
Reign Lee Jing Yu, now 21, pleaded guilty on Friday (Oct 6) to a charge under the Computer Misuse Act of disclosing his Singpass password for wrongful gain, and another charge of stealing from a friend.
The court heard that Lee saw an online advertisement in September 2022 offering "fast cash" for opening bank accounts.
He wanted to get the money and contacted the number indicated in the ad. An unidentified person on the other end told Lee that he would be paid S$8,000 in exchange for giving his Singpass login details so that bank accounts could be opened with them.
Lee agreed and gave the person his Singpass user ID and password.
Singpass is an online gateway to various services online administered by the Government Technology Agency, a statutory board, the prosecutor said.
Lee's Singpass account was used to open two bank accounts with CIMB and UOB. The accounts were used to receive S$136,483.60 and S$83,165 respectively, which were criminal proceeds from various scams.
By the time police seized both bank accounts, most of the money had been withdrawn from both accounts, except about S$30 in the CIMB account.
Lee did not receive the promised payment of S$8,000.
In March 2023, Lee told a 40-year-old man he had befriended a month ago that he needed a place to stay. He said he had moved out temporarily from his parents' home.
The man allowed Lee to stay with him and gave him a set of keys to the flat.
However, Lee stole repeatedly from the man. He took S$250, 200 ringgit, 400 yuan, NTUC shopping vouchers worth S$200 and Apple accessories worth S$50.
When the man realised his items were missing in April 2023, he confronted Lee. Lee admitted that he had stolen them and promised to repay him in full when he found a job.
However, he has yet to do so.
The prosecutor asked for six to 10 weeks' jail for the Singpass-related offence and one to two months' jail for theft.
He said the Singpass system that was abused by Lee is "a particularly crucial form of computer technology", said to be "every Singapore resident's trusted digital identity".
Unauthorised disclosure of one's Singpass account details allows third parties to open bank accounts that can be used by scammers for cheating and money laundering offences, said the prosecutor.
Such acts cause "tangible losses in the form of scam proceeds or dissipation of monies" and are also "immensely difficult to prevent and detect since the Singpass account details shield the perpetrators from subsequent investigations", he added.
The prosecutor said there has been "a rising tide of scam cases", with the reported figure rising from 13,576 cases in the first half of 2022 to 22,339 cases in the first half of 2023, or by 64.5 percent.
Lee had also stolen from his friend while investigations for the Singpass offence were ongoing.
He will return to court for sentencing next week.
Singapore
Man agreed to sell Singpass account for S$8,000, it was used to launder S$220,000 from scam victims
Lee Jing Yu Reign never received the promised S$8,000, but his Singpass account was used to open bank accounts that scammers used to launder about S$220,000.
06 Oct 2023 01:23PM (Updated: 06 Oct 2023 01:26PM)
SINGAPORE: A 20-year-old man agreed to give up the details of his Singpass account in exchange for S$8,000 (US$5,850).
While he never received the amount, his account was used to open two bank accounts, which were used to launder about S$220,000 in scam proceeds.
Reign Lee Jing Yu, now 21, pleaded guilty on Friday (Oct 6) to a charge under the Computer Misuse Act of disclosing his Singpass password for wrongful gain, and another charge of stealing from a friend.
The court heard that Lee saw an online advertisement in September 2022 offering "fast cash" for opening bank accounts.
He wanted to get the money and contacted the number indicated in the ad. An unidentified person on the other end told Lee that he would be paid S$8,000 in exchange for giving his Singpass login details so that bank accounts could be opened with them.
Lee agreed and gave the person his Singpass user ID and password.
Singpass is an online gateway to various services online administered by the Government Technology Agency, a statutory board, the prosecutor said.
Lee's Singpass account was used to open two bank accounts with CIMB and UOB. The accounts were used to receive S$136,483.60 and S$83,165 respectively, which were criminal proceeds from various scams.
By the time police seized both bank accounts, most of the money had been withdrawn from both accounts, except about S$30 in the CIMB account.
Lee did not receive the promised payment of S$8,000.
In March 2023, Lee told a 40-year-old man he had befriended a month ago that he needed a place to stay. He said he had moved out temporarily from his parents' home.
The man allowed Lee to stay with him and gave him a set of keys to the flat.
However, Lee stole repeatedly from the man. He took S$250, 200 ringgit, 400 yuan, NTUC shopping vouchers worth S$200 and Apple accessories worth S$50.
When the man realised his items were missing in April 2023, he confronted Lee. Lee admitted that he had stolen them and promised to repay him in full when he found a job.
However, he has yet to do so.
The prosecutor asked for six to 10 weeks' jail for the Singpass-related offence and one to two months' jail for theft.
He said the Singpass system that was abused by Lee is "a particularly crucial form of computer technology", said to be "every Singapore resident's trusted digital identity".
Unauthorised disclosure of one's Singpass account details allows third parties to open bank accounts that can be used by scammers for cheating and money laundering offences, said the prosecutor.
Such acts cause "tangible losses in the form of scam proceeds or dissipation of monies" and are also "immensely difficult to prevent and detect since the Singpass account details shield the perpetrators from subsequent investigations", he added.
The prosecutor said there has been "a rising tide of scam cases", with the reported figure rising from 13,576 cases in the first half of 2022 to 22,339 cases in the first half of 2023, or by 64.5 percent.
Lee had also stolen from his friend while investigations for the Singpass offence were ongoing.
He will return to court for sentencing next week.
