The Police would like to warn members of the public of job scams targeting couriers.
In these cases, the scammers would target couriers from various delivery platforms. There are two types of variants in these scams:
- In the first variant, the scammers would submit a request through the delivery platform. Thereafter, they would contact the assigned courier and request for assistance in purchasing gift cards from the convenience stores. While proceeding to the destination, the scammers would ask the courier to scratch and reveal the code behind the card and send a photo of the code as a proof of purchase. The courier would then realise that they had been scammed when the scammer became uncontactable and did not make payment for the gift cards.
- In the second variant, the scammers would indicate a remittance agency as the location for the courier to pick up the delivery. However, they would subsequently contact and request for the assigned courier to transfer a certain amount of money to an overseas account and promise an attractive tip of at least $100 per remittance. The couriers would only realise that they had been cheated when the scammers became uncontactable and there was no one at the delivery location to make payment for the remittance that they had assisted with.
The Police would like to advise members of the public on the following:
- Do not accept dubious job offers that offer lucrative returns for minimal effort. If an offer is too good to be true, it probably is;
- Never assist anyone, whom you have not met in person, with any monetary transfers, including remittance. You are responsible for all transactions that you make;
- Never provide the codes for the gift cards without receipt payment; and
- Report the scammer to the delivery platform customer service immediately.
The Police would also like to caution members of the public that providing cross-border money transfer payment service (remittance) without a licence is an offence punishable under Section 5(3)(a) of the Payment Services Act 2019. If convicted, the individual can be fined up to $125,000, or be jailed for up to three years, or both.
If you have information related to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. Please dial ‘999’ if you require urgent Police assistance.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Join the ‘Spot the Signs. Stop the Crimes’ 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 scams and prevent our loved ones from becoming the next victim.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
25 August 2021 @ 11:20 AM