SINGAPORE — In a move to step up the fight against scams, a set of proposed new laws will make it a crime for anyone to share their Singpass password or account with someone whom they suspect, but may not know for certain, will use it to commit a crime.

The new laws will also make it easier for the authorities to prosecute money mules who let scammers use their bank accounts to move funds around, even if they do not know for certain that the person they are dealing with is committing a crime.

These new laws are being proposed because it is difficult under existing laws to prosecute such individuals who help scammers, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) said in a statement on Tuesday (April 18).

This is because the prosecution has to prove that the user knowingly disclosed his Singpass credentials for wrongful gain or unlawful purposes, or knew that it would cause wrongful loss, which is difficult to do.

Singpass is the government-developed authentication system for e-services.

Similarly, in the case of money mules, the prosecution has to prove that the person had knowledge or reasonable grounds to believe that the money transacted through his bank account is linked to criminal activity, which is a high bar to clear.

More than 19,000 money mules were investigated by the police between 2020 and 2022, but fewer than 250 cases were eventually prosecuted.

Under the proposed new laws, it would be enough, for example, if such individuals had reasonable grounds to believe that the person with whom they are sharing their Singpass or bank account was up to something shady, but did not take steps to find out more. 

MHA and SNDGO tabled proposals in Parliament on Tuesday to amend the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act and the Computer Misuse Act to add these new laws to the books.

WHY IT MATTERS

While most types of crimes have been on the decline, scams have surged in the past few years. In 2022 alone, S$660.7 million was lost by victims to scams.

In some of these cases, scammers paid Singaporeans to give up their Singpass credentials. The scammers then used these Singpass accounts to register companies, open bank accounts or sign up for new phone lines. 

In many cases, the scammers also paid individuals, known as money mules, to move their illicit funds around — the scammer would transfer money into the mules' bank accounts and then ask the mules to transfer the funds to other accounts. 

A large number of the money mules arrested by the police cannot be prosecuted, MHA and SNDGO said.

CLAMPING DOWN ON SINGPASS SHARING

Under the proposed changes to the law, individuals will be presumed to have “knowingly disclosed” their Singpass credentials if they provide the personal data in any of the following situations:

• They received gain for disclosing their Singpass credentials
• They disclosed the details knowing that the disclosure was likely to cause wrongful loss to someone else
• They disclosed their credentials without taking reasonable steps to find out the identity and physical location of the person who asked for the data

It would also be an offence for an individual to obtain, retain, supply, offer to supply, transmit or make available the Singpass credentials of another person to commit or facilitate the commission of a crime.

If passed, the offence of disclosing one’s own Singpass details will carry a maximum fine of up to S$10,000 or jail of up to three years, or both.

The offence of obtaining or dealing in Singpass details will carry a maximum penalty of a fine of up to S$10,000 or jail of up to three years, or both, for a first offence.

For a second or subsequent offence, the maximum penalty will be a fine of up to S$20,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

NEW OFFENCE FOR SHARING BANK ACCOUNT

Similarly, an individual who gives away control of his bank account without taking any steps to understand what his account will be used for could be charged for a crime under the proposed new laws.

If the changes to the laws are passed, new offences of rash and negligent money laundering will be introduced where:

• A person would be liable for acting rashly by going ahead to carry out transactions while he had some suspicion, but did not make more enquiries to address those suspicions
• A person would be liable for acting negligently by continuing with a transaction despite the presence of red flags that are noticeable by an ordinary, reasonable person

A person can also be deemed liable for a money laundering offence if:

• The value of the property he dealt with is disproportionate to his known sources of income
• He allowed someone else to access, operate or control his bank account and failed to take reasonable steps to find out the purpose of this arrangement
• He received or transferred money in his bank account and failed to take reasonable steps to find out the source or destination of the money
• He received money from or transferred money to another person, and failed to take reasonable steps to find out that person’s identity and physical location

Under the proposed expansions to the law, offenders can face the following:

• A maximum fine of up to S$250,000 or jail of up to five years, or both, for rash money laundering
• A fine of up to S$150,000 or jail of up to three years, or both, for negligent money laundering
• A maximum fine of up to S$50,000 or jail of up to three years, or both, for assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct

The proposed new offences are not intended to capture people who share their Singpass credentials for lawful purposes — such as seniors who need the help of family members to make transactions — or persons who were genuinely tricked into giving up their Singpass or bank account details, MHA and SNDGO said.

Instead, the new laws aim to strengthen Singapore's defence against scams, they added.

“Everyone has a role to play in the fight against scams, and should exercise care and responsibility in the use of our payment accounts and Singpass.”