Published on Apr 12, 2013
Police
on Friday, arrested three men aged between 18 and 26 in connection
with at least 180 cases of loanshark harassment SMS
scams.
Victims of the scam would receive text messages claiming that their
particulars had been used to borrow money from loansharks, and
threatened to harass them and vandalise their homes - by splashing
paint or with fire - if they did not pay up.
While most of the victims had no prior dealings with loansharks,
some transferred money to bank accounts provided by the scammers
out of fear.
Following extensive inquiries, the suspects were arrested at
Hougang and Ceylon Road by officers from the Criminal Investigation
Department and Police Intelligence Department. Several handphones,
laptops, ATM cards and USB drives were also seized during a
six-hour operation on Friday.