The Police have arrested a man and a woman, both aged 19, for their suspected involvement in a series of e-commerce scams involving the sale of gold jewellery.
In May 2020, the Police received several reports from victims who were purportedly cheated by an online seller who claimed to be running a Hari Raya Puasa celebration promotion and selling gold jewellery at discounted prices on Carousell. After payments were made by the victims via bank transfers, the seller become uncontactable.
Through investigations and close collaboration with Carousell, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department established the identities of the teenagers and arrested them on 19 May 2020. Preliminary investigations revealed that the two arrested are believed to have cheated more than 40 victims of more than $5,000.
Further investigations also revealed that the couple had lodged a false police report claiming that the female teenager had misplaced her personal belongings, among which is a document containing her bank access credentials, and that she had received money from unknown sources.
Police investigations are ongoing. The offence of cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code is punishable with an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, and a fine. For the offence of giving any information, which he or she knows to be false to a public servant, under Section 182 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, is punishable with an imprisonment term of up to 2 years, or a fine, or both.
The Police take a serious view of persons who may be involved in scams and frauds, and perpetrators will be dealt with, in accordance with the law. The Police would like to advise members of the public to be very careful when making online purchases:
a) Opt for buyer protection by using in-built payment options that release payment to the seller only upon delivery. Whenever possible, avoid making advance payments or direct bank transfers to the seller.
b) Scammers may entice buyers to contact them directly through messaging platforms such as WhatsApp or WeChat by offering a better or faster deal if bank transfer payments are made directly to them. They may also use a local bank account or provide a copy of a NRIC/driver’s licence to make you believe that they are genuine sellers. Do not fall for it!
c) If the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Purchase only from authorised sellers or reputable sources, especially for high-value items.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam hotline at 1800-722-6688. 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.
Samples of Carousell Listings
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
20 May 2020 @ 5:45 PM