14 men charged over alleged eCOA identity-theft scheme that targeted Singpass accounts

SINGAPORE: Ten men aged between 17 and 32 were charged on December 9, 2025 for their suspected involvement in a criminal network responsible for a series of unauthorised attempts to change registered residential addresses using the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority’s (ICA) electronic Change of Address (eCOA) system. The case was first made public by ICA on January 11, 2025.

These latest enforcement actions add to earlier charges brought against four men in January 2025. On December 9, police tendered additional charges against three of these four individuals. The fourth man, who is a 30-year-old believed to be the mastermind, had already faced 42 additional charges in July and November this year.

With the new round of charges, 14 people have now been prosecuted in relation to the case, five of whom also face charges from ICA for suspected false reporting of residential address changes.

According to joint findings by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and ICA, the group operated a criminal network that allegedly intercepted ICA PIN mailers and used them to fraudulently alter victims’ registered addresses. These altered addresses were then used to obtain Singpass password-reset mailers, allowing offenders to take over victims’ Singpass accounts.

Authorities said three of the 14 accused are believed to be the key actors, while the remaining 11 allegedly played supporting roles. Seven other individuals arrested during investigations were issued 24-month Conditional Warnings in lieu of prosecution.

The Police and ICA stressed that such offences strike at the heart of Singapore’s digital identity and address systems and said enforcement action will remain firm.

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