Police raid seventeen mobile phone shops in major crackdown on SIM cards registered to fake users

A police officer questions a shop assistant at a mobile phone shop on Jan 16, 2022. (Photo: CNA/Chew Hui Min)

SINGAPORE: Police on Sunday (Jan 16) arrested ten people suspected of fraudulently registering prepaid SIM cards which could have been used for crimes such as frauds, unlicensed moneylending, and vice.

These SIM cards were being sold to customers who wanted to remain anonymous and could have been using them for crimes.

According to CNA, this came after raids on seventeen handphone shops by the Commercial Affairs Department in a nine-hour operation across the island.

The shops were located at Orchard, Geylang, Serangoon, Pasir Ris, Jurong West, Yishun, Woodlands, Boon Lay, Desker Road, Syed Alwi Road and Rochor Canal Road.

Reporters were present for police raids on four shops at one mall along Geylang Road. 

Police officers were seen searching the shops, checking the SIM cards, and questioning the shop attendants, some of whom left with the police for further investigations.

In total, nine men and one woman, aged between 31 and 56, were arrested in the islandwide raids.

They are suspected of fraudulently registering prepaid SIM cards using the particulars of unsuspecting customers or foreigners who have not entered Singapore or have left the country, police said.

"Investigations revealed that these handphone retailers had abused the computer systems holding the registration information for prepaid SIM cards."

The retailers purportedly preregistered SIM cards using the particulars of others and sold them to customers who wanted to remain anonymous.