Singapore and China police smash credit-for-sex scam syndicate, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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Singapore and China police smash credit-for-sex scam syndicate

This article is more than 12 months old

A credit-for-sex fraud syndicate has been smashed, thanks to joint efforts by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and their Chinese counterparts.

In the first half of last year, the SPF received 627 reports of credit-for-sex scams - where victims were duped into paying for non-existent sexual services via social media platforms like WeChat - that had swindled victims here of around $1.6 million.

The SPF conducted joint investigations with the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China.

Investigations revealed that the culprits operated from call centres in China and Chinese Police conducted a simultaneous raid on various locations last December, detaining 43 individuals and seizing equipment like computers, telecommunication devices and modems.

SPF's director of the Commercial Affairs Department David Chew said: "We appreciate the support from our Chinese counterparts in this joint investigation.

"The close cooperation between the SPF and the Chinese Police was instrumental in crippling this transnational criminal syndicate.

"It demonstrates our common resolve to work together to ensure that crime does not pay, and that we spare no efforts to clamp down on criminals who hide behind the anonymity of the Internet to prey on victims across borders."

SingaporeSexscamChinaCOURT & CRIMEUncategorisedFraud