Between January and May 2019, the Police have received at least 71 reports where victims were unknowingly saddled with loans while they were trying to purchase mobile phones on e-commerce platforms. At least $24,000 were cheated.
In some instances, the victims were deceived into providing their personal information such as NRIC, SingPass or bank account details, on the pretext of signing up for an instalment plan package for the purchase of mobile phones. The victims subsequently discovered that a sum of money had been deposited into their bank account, and the perpetrators then demanded the victims to pay back the loan amount with interest. In other instances, the victims were offered loans to purchase the mobile phones. These victims would then receive monies in their bank accounts, regardless if they had agreed to the loan offers, and were subsequently asked to make repayments.
Members of the public are advised to take the following precautions with regard to such scams:
- Never give your personal information such as NRIC, SingPass or bank account details to strangers or to unverified sources. Do not provide information that is not necessary to make a purchase.
- If you suspect that you have received an unknown sum of money in your bank account, report it to the bank and the Police immediately. If the unknown sum of money is still in your account, do not make any transactions with it.
- Check out the track record and background of the company or seller before making a purchase. Be wary that fraud artists can appear and disappear especially on e-commerce platforms so the lack of a complaint record is no guarantee of legitimacy.
If you wish to provide any information related to such scams, 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 can also call the National Crime Prevention Council’s ‘X Ah Long’ Hotline at 1800–924–5664 if you have any information pertaining to unlicensed moneylenders. To seek scam-related advice, you can call the National Crime Prevention Council’s anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 or visit www.scamalert.sg.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
15 August 2019 @ 4:10 PM