The Police have arrested two men aged 17 and 19 for their suspected involvement in a series of cheating cases involving the sale of counterfeit AirPods.
Between 9 and 12 October 2022, Police received two reports lodged by victims who suspected that they were cheated by an online seller into purchasing counterfeit AirPods on the e-commerce platform Carousell. The counterfeit AirPods were represented as authentic and deceptively packaged in sealed boxes with legitimate serial numbers, which misled the victims into believing that the AirPods were authentic. The ruse was purportedly uncovered when the victims tried to sync the AirPods with their Apple devices and were alerted that the AirPods were not authentic. Suspecting that they had fallen victim to a scam, the victims then reported the matter to the Police.
Through investigations, officers from Tanglin Police Division established the identities of the two men and arrested them on 13 October 2022. Sixty-one boxes of counterfeit AirPods and two mobile phones were seized as case exhibits.
The two men are assisting with Police investigations for the offences of cheating and abetment of cheating. The offence of cheating is punishable under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871, and carries an imprisonment term of up to ten years and a fine. The maximum punishment for abetting an offence is the same as that of committing an offence itself, as provided for under Section 109 of the Penal Code 1871.
The Police take a serious view against any person involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law.
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. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
14 October 2022 @ 8:15 PM