You come across a job offer in a chat group on an online messaging platform. <\/p>\n
The task seems simple: sell them three prepaid SIM cards registered in your name for cash. <\/p>\n
Thinking it is easy money, you agree without question. And just like that, you have become a scam mule \u2013 and a criminal. <\/p>\n
Under Singapore laws, mule-related offences involve the misuse of bank and payment accounts, phone lines, and Singpass credentials to facilitate fraud.<\/p>\n
Since Jan 1, <\/p>\n anyone giving away SIM cards<\/p>\n <\/a> registered in their names is required to take reasonable steps to find out the recipient\u2019s identity and location, and purpose for obtaining it.<\/p>\n Those who knowingly participate in mule activities can face charges, even if they claim ignorance of the law, says Singapore Police Force (SPF) staff officer Ong Li Ying, 27. <\/p>\n Scammers tap on local phone lines to contact potential victims and use local bank accounts to move funds within Singapore and abroad, she explains. They also rely on Singpass credentials to sign up for phone lines or bank accounts, among other services. <\/p>\n Scam mules face <\/p>\n discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes<\/p>\n <\/a> under enhanced laws passed on Nov 4 to stop mule activities. Scammers, scam syndicate members and recruiters face mandatory caning of at least six and up to 24 strokes. <\/p>\n From October, scam mules \u2013 including those assessed to be at risk of further facilitating scams while under investigation \u2013 <\/p>\n may be barred from registering new phone lines<\/p>\n <\/a>. They may also face restricted access to their banking and Singpass services.<\/p>\n 271 individuals and 44 corporate entities have been placed under restrictions since Oct 1. <\/p>\n Ms Ong notes that money mules form the majority of the over 3,500 individuals investigated for scam and mule-related activities in Singapore in the first half of 2025, with over 500 charged so far.<\/p>\n In the same period, about $456 million was lost to scams, notes SPF\u2019s 2025 mid-year scam and cybercrime report released in August.<\/p>\n As scam syndicates are typically based overseas, she adds, \u201ccrippling the local ecosystem of scam enablers is crucial to fighting scams.\u201d <\/p>\n Nearly 15 per cent of mobile phone line subscribers in 2025 who allowed their lines to be used for scams were repeat mule offenders, according to SPF data. Together, they had subscribed to over 11,000 lines.<\/p>\n IMDA is working with SPF and telcos to stop identified mules and corporate entities from subscribing to new mobile lines and suspend \u201cscam-tainted SIM cards\u201d, says Mr Goh Chian Hao, assistant director of Market Policy and Regulation at Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). <\/p>\n He notes that anyone who wishes to purchase a SIM card in Singapore, including foreign visitors, need to have their identities authenticated. Subscribers are also limited to three prepaid and 10 postpaid SIM cards.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) requires banks operating in Singapore to put in place controls to detect mule accounts that are abused for scam activities,\u201d says an MAS spokesman.<\/p>\n Individuals placed under the new restriction for scam mules will be denied access to digital banking, ATM and card-based transactions, for both new and existing accounts. <\/p>\n Most scam victims never get their money back. <\/p>\n \u201cOnce money is transferred to an account controlled by the scammers,\u201d says Ms Ong, \u201cit can be moved rapidly across multiple accounts and different countries within minutes. This has made tracing and recovery efforts very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n The scale and volume of scam operations make things worse, she adds.<\/p>\n Scammers operate safely from overseas, and can easily recruit mules in Singapore through social media and messaging platforms at low cost due to the high internet penetration here, Ms Ong says. <\/p>\n And when authorities shut down their accounts or websites, new ones emerge. The police disrupted close to 45,000 scam websites last year, she adds.<\/p>\n Scammers also adapt quickly, says Ms Ong. For example, when the police cracked down on local SIM cards accessible to scammers, they pivoted to buying online accounts like WhatsApp from local residents. <\/p>\n \u201cWe must accept some friction in our financial system to transact more safely online,\u201d Ms Ong says. <\/p>\n \u201c(For example), measures like two-factor authentication and cooling periods for high-risk banking transactions may add inconvenience, but they are essential safeguards.\u201d<\/p>\n This is part of a series titled \u201c<\/i><\/p>\n Act against scams<\/u><\/i><\/p>\n <\/a>\u201d, in partnership with the Singapore Police Force and the National Crime Prevention Council.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n