There has been an increase in the number of scam cases involving online transactions. Scammers would trick victims into paying for items such as admission tickets to local attractions, concert tickets and latest mobile phones.
In most cases, scammers posed as online sellers and would ask victims for advanced payments for the product – either as a deposit or in full -- to be transferred to a local bank account before agreeing to deliver the items. However, despite receiving the payment, these scammers do not deliver the items and usually become uncontactable thereafter. There were also cases where the scammers provided fake tickets to the victims, who would only discover that they were cheated when they were denied entry at the event venue.
From January to June 2016, a total of 1,145 cases of cheating involving e-commerce were reported. This represents an increase of 13.4% compared to the same period last year. The Police have observed that approximately 7 out of 10 reports were made by victims who had used online community marketplaces such as Carousell, Gumtree and Facebook for their online transactions.
While online shopping is convenient, the Police would like to advise members of the public to take the following precautions when shopping online:
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Bear in mind that the party you are dealing with online is a stranger. Before performing a transaction, find out how the online site safeguards your interest or can help you resolve disputes;
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Whenever possible, pay only on delivery.
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If advanced payments are required, use shopping platforms that provide arrangements to only release your payment to the seller upon your receipt of the item; and
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Be mindful that although culprits may provide a copy of an Identification Card or Driver’s licence to gain your trust, it may not necessarily belong to the person communicating with you online.
Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police hotline at 1800-255 0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. For urgent assistance, please call ‘999’.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
20 September 2016 @ 10:00 AM