The Police have arrested an 18-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a series of cheating cases.
Between 8 June 2017 and 5 February 2018, the police received separate reports from victims who were purportedly cheated by an online seller who had offered iTunes gift cards and USS admission tickets at discounted prices. After the payments were made by the victims via bank transfers, the suspect became uncontactable.
Officers from Tanglin Police Division conducted extensive follow-up investigations to establish the identity of the suspect and arrested him on 19 March 2018.
Investigations against the suspect are ongoing. Any person found guilty of the offense of cheating may be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to 10 years, and shall also be liable to a fine.
Members of the public are advised to adopt the following crime prevention measures to avoid falling prey to online purchase scams:
- Before performing a transaction, find out how the online site safeguards your interest or can help you resolve disputes;
- Check the seller’s track record by reading reviews or contacting previous customers;
- Purchase tickets only from authorised sellers, and take note of the terms and conditions of the ticket sale;
- If advanced payments are required, use shopping platforms that provide arrangements to only release your payment to the seller upon your receipt of the item.
For scam-related advice, you may call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 or go to www.scamalert.sg. Help spread the word and share this advisory with your family and friends to prevent them from being the next victim of scam.
If you’d like to contribute your story to us, drop us an email at editors@sureboh.sg and we’ll review it. We read each submission that comes to us within two weeks of receiving it.
