The police have arrested a 31-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a case of sexual service scam.
On 21 June 2020, the police received a report from the victim who was purportedly duped into making a payment via bank transfer after responding to an advertisement posted on Locanto for sexual services. After the payment was made, the scammer became uncontactable.
Through investigations, officers from Jurong Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him on 8 July 2020. Preliminary investigations revealed that the man is believed to be involved in two similar cases of sexual service scam.
The man will be charged in court on 13 July 2020 with cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which is punishable with an imprisonment term that may extend to 10 years, and a fine.
Members of the public are advised to adopt the following crime prevention measures:
- Be wary of friend requests or online listings offering escort, massage or sexual services, as they may be fraudulent in nature.
- Scammers may employ scare tactics to threaten victims into making more payments. Remain calm and do not accede to their requests.
- Do not give out your personal details such as your credit card information freely.
If you wish to provide any information relating to such cases, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
You may also call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 or visit www.scamalert.sg to seek scam-related advice. Join the ‘let’s fight scams’ campaign at www.scamalert.sg/fight by signing up as an advocate to receive up-to-date messages and share them with your family and friends. Together, we can help stop scam and prevent our loved ones from becoming the next scam victim.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
09 July 2020 @ 6:15 PM