In a case of identity theft, a person has been duping people into paying for coveted tickets under the name of Mandy Teo, who had lost her identity card in 2016. However, she had replaced it earlier this year.
Teo was aghast to hear from a friend that a person was using her identity card multiple times to sell entry tickets. These tickets are usually for entry to annual Halloween Horror Nights by Universal Studios Singapore (USS), among other events. All of these tickets are bought and sold over an on online marketplace Carousell.
Usually, the tickets to USS Halloween event are priced at $68 each, but those available on Carousell are cheaper.
A woman after paying for the ticket, turned up at Teo's house asking for her tickets, which she had paid $250 for. But the victim had no idea of any of this. She told Sunday Time's that the woman wanted the tickets for her daughter
"She said this was the address given to her by the scammer and she had already transferred the money," said Teo, whose parents had answered the door, since she was not at home. The fraudster looked for victims on both Facebook and Carousell and used Teo's IC as 'proof' of identity for the buyers. After the fund transfer was made, the fraudster would block all contact, leaving the buyers at a loss and Teo in trouble.
Teo wrote a Facebook public post on October 8 to set the record straight and clear her name. The post has been shared more than 1,600 times. The fraudsters Carousell account has been reported and suspended.
According to Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, 32,000 have reported between 2012 and 2016 that their IC's have been stolen.
Police had addressed the issue regarding the rise in USS Halloween ticket scams in 2017, with victims losing a total of $21,500 so far. Cases of identity theft usually fall under cheating or offences under the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act. Singaporeans are required to report the loss of their ICs and apply for a replacement card personally at the ICA Building within 14 days.
