Three men, aged between 21 and 28, will be charged in court on 28 June 2025 for their suspected involvement in offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (“CDSA”) and the Computer Misuse Act 1993 (“CMA”).
Between May and June 2025, the Police received several reports from victims who were cheated by an online seller who was selling Pokemon Trading cards on Carousell. After the victims made payment via bank transfers, they did not receive the said trading cards. When questioned, the seller claimed he was in a business venture with another supplier who did not honour the transactions upon receiving payments.
Through follow-up investigations, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department established the identities of the supplier and his accomplices and arrested them on 26 and 27 June 2025. The men are believed to be involved in at least 50 cases of such scams and purportedly cheated at least $57,000.
The 26-year-old man will be charged in court with the offence of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 55A(1)(a)(i) of the CDSA, which is punishable with an imprisonment term of up to three years, a fine not exceeding $50,000 or with both.
The remaining two men, aged 21 and 28, will be charged in court with the offence of accessing without authority bank accounts belonging to separate individual to withdraw payments under Section 3(1) of the CMA and may be punished with an imprisonment term of up to two years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
The Police would like to remind members of the public to exercise caution when buying products from non-authorised platforms. Keep communications within the platform and transact in person so that you can inspect the products before making payment. Be wary of e-commerce scam red flags such as large discounts for faster transactions. Do not transfer money to anyone you do not know. Never disclose your personal information, internet banking or One-Time passwords to anyone.
Members of the public are encouraged to adopt the following crime prevention measures:
- ADD – Add the ScamShield app to block and filter SMSes. Set up security features to your payment accounts.
- CHECK – Check for scam signs with official sources (e.g. call the ScamShield Helpline at 1799, use the ScamShield app or visit www.scamshield.gov.sg), or with someone you trust.
- TELL – Tell the authorities as well as your family and friends if or when you encounter scams. Report any suspicious listing or user profile through an in-app reporting function within Carousell and Facebook. Initiate in-app blocking within these platforms to block unwanted communication by suspicious users. If you suspect that you have fallen victim to a scam, call your bank immediately to report and block any fraudulent transactions as well as make a police report.
If you are in doubt, call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 to check. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
28 June 2025 @ 12:30 AM