People who sell Carousell and Telegram accounts risk jail and fines of up to $10,000: Lawyers

SINGAPORE - Offers made by fraudsters in Telegram groups are dangling between $100 and $1,000 for an old Carousell or Telegram account, seemingly to perpetrate a digital masquerade for crime.

Singapore lawyers told ST that these accounts can be exploited by financial criminals to craft an illusion of reputation, with those selling control of their accounts for illicit purposes risking fines up to $10,000 and jail for a maximum of three years.

Checks by The Straits Times on July 2 found at least three Telegram groups with listings enticing people in Singapore to sell their Carousell or Telegram accounts to make a fast buck, even as the Singapore Government has doubled down on verifying the identities of suspected scammers on e-commerce platforms.

On these groups, offers to buy access to such accounts compete with a flurry of illegal moneylending jobs and ads recruiting money mules that are sent almost every minute.

More cash is offered for “verified, old and reputable” Carousell accounts and Telegram accounts with premium features, a subscription service that users have to pay for.

Mr Chenthil Kumarasingam, dispute resolution partner at Withers KhattarWong, said established Carousell accounts with high ratings provide “a veneer of legitimacy”, deceiving potential victims into believing that they are dealing with reputable sellers.

“This trust can then be exploited to conduct various scams, such as selling non-existent items or items that are significantly different from what was advertised,” he said.

Since April, at least 594 victims have lost at least $1.3 million to scammers posing as interested buyers on Carousell, Facebook Marketplace and other platforms, the police said in June.

These victims were tricked into keying in their bank credentials, credit card details and one-time passwords, thinking that they were collecting payment from scammers.

Mr Chenthil said Carousell could be targeted because a criminal syndicate has identified vulnerabilities in the e-commerce platform and user patterns that it feels it can exploit, which can crop up if users do not use the safeguards available.

A Carousell spokesperson said the platform has received reports from users about Carousell accounts being sold, and has been monitoring and actively taking down listings on the platform that violate its policies.

Among the company’s suite of safeguards against malicious and suspicious cyber activities is requiring suspected scammers to verify their identities using Singpass.

Meanwhile, fraudsters could be interested in purchasing Telegram accounts because the platform confers relative anonymity and has a larger user base, said Mr Chenthil.

These accounts can be used to perpetrate scams and other illicit fraud-related activities, including money laundering, said Ms Josephine Chee, commercial litigation and white collar crime practices partner at Rajah and Tann.

Regardless of the e-commerce platform targeted, the bottom line is that fraudsters use these accounts to avoid using their own personal details to “do the dirty work”, said Invictus Law director Cory Wong.

The accounts can be used as the first point of contact for a scam, or as conduits to transfer ill-gotten gains.

Said Mr Wong: “And the more layers the money flows through, the harder it is to do tracing to recover the money.

“Tracing also takes up time and resources.”

Selling access codes to an e-commerce account knowing that it can or will facilitate criminal activity is an offence under the Computer Misuse Act, the lawyers said.

Those who use such accounts to commit a serious offence involving property, fraud or dishonesty can be fined up to $50,000, jailed for up to 10 years, or both.

Anyone who has handled criminal proceeds can be found liable, said Ms Chee.

She said: “Under Singapore law, a person who has handled proceeds of crime may also be exposed to criminal liability even if he did not know as a matter of fact that he was dealing with proceeds of crime.”

For the safety of the online space, people should avoid sharing account details with anyone, even those they are familiar with, said Mr Chenthil.

“Protecting account details is like locking the door to your home,” he said.

“It is a simple and effective way to protect yourself and to deter criminals from operating in your vicinity.”

ST has contacted Telegram for comment.