The Police would like to alert the public on a resurgence of a scam variant where game account sellers were allegedly duped into paying administrative fees to facilitate the sale of their gaming accounts via fake online platforms. Since February 2022, at least 21 victims had fallen prey, with total losses amounting to at least $86,000.
In this scam variant, scammers would purportedly approach victims via gaming or e-commerce platforms and express their interest to purchase the victims’ gaming accounts. The scammer would send the victims dubious URL links (e.g. 91.73299.cn, 93.57751.cn, uyagsdusa4.wpg7mmci3k.lol) to seemingly reliable platforms which facilitate the sale of gaming accounts. Once victims access the fake platform, they would be prompted to create an account with his bank account details, name and contact number. The scammer would then claim that payment has been made to the victims’ account. When the victims fail to withdraw the money, they would be directed to the customer service of the fake platform. The customer service representative would inform the victims that the funds were frozen due to errors in the registration process and the victims would need to deposit more money into the platform for the existing funds to be unfrozen. Depositing more money could be done by transferring monies to bank accounts maintained by individuals. Victims would realise that they were scammed when they were unable to withdraw any funds from the platforms.
The Police would like to remind members of the public to be alert and to follow these crime prevention measures:
- Do not click on dubious URL links;
- Established companies tend to have bank accounts maintained under their own company’s name. Avoid transferring funds to bank accounts maintained by individuals when dealing with companies; and
- Do not provide personal or bank account information on websites accessed via dubious links.
If you have information related to such crimes, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. Please call ‘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.
Annex A
Screenshot of a fake platform facilitating the sale of gaming accounts
Example of correspondence with a fake customer service
Another example of correspondence with a fake customer service representative
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
25 November 2022 @ 11:06 AM