Singapore teen arrested for involvement in 20 e-commerce scams

By Bhaswati Guha Majumder
Updated April 17, 2019 18:57 +08

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE — PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT, SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE SPF

A 17-year-old Singapore teenager girl was arrested on Monday, April 15 for her suspected involvement in a series of e-commerce scams.

The police said, between September and December 2018, they received several reports from members of the public who were allegedly cheated by an online seller of BTS and Monsta X's concert merchandises on Carousell.

The victims claimed that after they made the payments via bank transfers, they received fake tickets or in some case, never received any tickets.

When the officers from the Commercial Affairs Department started their investigation, they found that it was a teenage girl, who was conducting such scams. They also claimed that the teen was involved in at least 20 cases of such scams and cheated a total of $1,200.

The girl is likely to face charges under Section 420 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, on Wednesday.

As per the law, whoever, by deceiving any person, whether or not such deception was the sole or main inducement, fraudulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to consent that any person shall retain any property, or intentionally induces the person so deceived to do or omit to do anything which he would not do or omit to do if he were not so deceived, and which act or omission causes or is likely to cause damage or harm to any person in body, mind, reputation or property, is said to "cheat".

Whoever cheats and thereby dishonestly induces the person deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to make, alter or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security, or anything which is signed or sealed, and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Police advised the public to follow the precautions given below to avoid such scams:

Bear in mind that the party you are dealing with online is a stranger. Before performing a transaction on an online shopping site, find out how the site safeguards your interest or can help you resolve disputes
Insist on cash on delivery especially if responding to online classified advertisements
If advance payments are required, use shopping platforms that provide arrangements to only release your payment to the seller upon your receipt of the item
Be mindful that although sellers may provide a copy of an identification card or driver's licence to gain your trust, it may not necessarily belong to the person communicating with you online; and
Note that scammers may use a local bank account to enhance credibility; however, the owner of the account may not be the person communicating with you online.

People can also visit scamalert.sg or can call the Anti-Scam hotline at 1800-722-6688 if they want to know more about such scams. Members of the public are also advised to inform the authority about a scam and make a call to the police on hotline number 1800-255 0000 or they can submit the information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.