SG is financial loss/fraud/scam hub. Huat ah!

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Woman loses over $44k after downloading third-party app to buy fish​

Ms Jacqueline Khoo, 58, had chanced upon a Facebook advertisement for grouper fillets from a seafood supplier called “Fresh Market TGS” on Aug 25. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
Sherlyn Sim

SEP 25, 2023

SINGAPORE – An online order for grouper fillets that was supposed to cost $10 ended up costing one woman more than $44,000 after scammers took control of her Android phone and banking details remotely.
Ms Jacqueline Khoo, 58, lost $44,487 from two credit card accounts and three bank savings accounts from POSB in a few hours after she clicked on a link to download a third-party app, following which scammers then increased her credit limits and siphoned out her money.
Ms Khoo had chanced upon a Facebook advertisement for grouper fillets from a seafood supplier called “Fresh Market TGS” on Aug 25.
She was attracted by a deal that offered $10 grouper fillet with free shipping and contacted the seller on Facebook.
“Although I never bought anything from Facebook before, I had previously bought fish and pork from Shopee and Qoo10. I was not suspicious of the ad and it never occurred to me that this was a scam,” she told The Straits Times.
The seller texted Ms Khoo on WhatsApp and instructed her to download a third-party app called Grab&Go on her phone. The app prompted her to make a $5 payment through PayNow as a “deposit” before her order could be placed, but she asked if she could pay when her order arrived.
The seller reassured her that he did not need her banking details and asked her to enter her name, address and phone number on the app to check out her purchase.

Ms Khoo, who works as a merchandiser at book stores, did not suspect anything until 8pm that day, when she was calling friends. She noticed that her phone felt “extremely hot” and the screen had gone blank.
When her phone restarted twice by itself, she quickly uninstalled the application and rushed to charge it, thinking it was out of battery.
Three days later, when she wanted to check if she had received her pay, she realised that she was “left with a few dollars” in her bank accounts.

The scammers had raised her transaction limit from $25,000 to $50,000 and transferred about $32,000 out of her three POSB savings accounts to a Hong Leong Bank account.
Later, when checking her POSB online banking app, she realised a further $12,000 was missing from two POSB credit card accounts.
She said she had set aside that money for her 16-year-old daughter’s school fees and insurance.
“Everything’s gone. I can’t sleep and can’t eat. This was my hard-earned money and I need to pay for my younger daughter’s school fees and insurance,” said Ms Khoo, who also has a 26-year-old daughter working as a nurse.
“My younger daughter’s insurance policy is going to expire soon and I’m worried sick that I can’t afford to renew it.”

Ms Khoo sought help from Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC MP Lawrence Wong to write appeals to POSB and the Monetary Authority of Singapore to waive the amount that was drawn from her credit card and bank accounts. She also lodged a police report on Aug 28.
The police confirmed that a report had been made and investigations are ongoing.
When contacted, DBS Bank, which runs POSB, said it has dedicated resources to “act swiftly and assist” customers who are scammed, including a dedicated fraud hotline – 1800-339-6963 (from Singapore) or (+65) 6339-6963 (from overseas). It also has a safety switch function on the digibank app, which would temporarily block access to funds.
“We will assist these customers with necessary follow-up actions, which include making a police report, or replacing their cards/re-securing their accounts,” DBS said.
“While we continue to adopt multi-pronged measures to strengthen fraud prevention and recovery, customers remain the first line of defence in safeguarding against scams.”
Ms Khoo wonders how the large sums were transferred out of her accounts without any notifications sent to her.
“I didn’t get any one-time passwords (OTPs) in SMSes sent by the bank to verify the unauthorised transactions. I am very scared and frustrated,” she added.
Scams using the same tactic – whereby “sellers” send victims payment links that download malware into their phones, enabling scammers to control their devices remotely and drain their bank accounts – have become increasingly common.
Earlier in September, a woman lost $76,000 after downloading a third-party app to buy mooncakes. Another woman lost more than $20,000 from credit card and bank accounts after downloading a third-party app to order food.
There were 22,339 scam cases reported from January to June 2023, a 64.5 per cent increase from the 13,576 cases in the same period last year. The amount lost totalled $334.5 million.

 

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Woman loses over $111,000 after downloading third-party app to buy durian tour ticket​

Ms Lie had chanced upon an offer for a durian day tour, and was instructed to download a third-party app to browse the tour offers. PHOTO: MS LIE
Sherlyn Sim

SEP 29, 2023

SINGAPORE – A part-time bakery worker lost over US$81,000 (S$111,000) to scammers who siphoned money from her two DBS bank accounts after infecting her Android phone with malware.
Ms Lie, 52, had on Sept 10 chanced upon a Facebook advertisement for a $28 durian day-tour ticket to Kulai, Malaysia, from a tour agency called “GD Travel & Tour”.
She was attracted by the offer as she had enjoyed a durian tour in 2022 and contacted the seller on Facebook.
The seller texted Ms Lie on WhatsApp and instructed her through voice messages to download a third-party app called EG Store on her phone to browse the tour offers.
“I wasn’t suspicious of him. He had a strong Malaysian accent and sounded very sincere. He was patient and helpful with my questions about the tour so I believed him,” she told The Straits Times.
Ms Lie eventually did not buy the tour ticket as her friends did not want to go. She did not provide him with her banking details or address.
She did not think much about the incident until a week later when she was trying to pay her credit card bills. She noticed that she could not log into her Internet banking app after multiple attempts.

Her son, who wanted to be known only as Mr Teo, called DBS immediately, thinking its digital banking services were disrupted.
It was only when a bank officer told Mr Teo that his mother’s account was locked on Sept 13 due to large transfers of US dollars that they realised something was amiss.
The scammers had raised her transaction limit and transferred over $110,000 out of two DBS savings accounts to five different bank accounts.

Ms Lie said she had set aside that money for her retirement and Mr Teo’s wedding in 2024.
“I cry every day and cannot sleep. This was my money saved over three decades. I deleted all the banking apps in my phone because I’m so scared,” said Ms Lie, who has three children.
Ms Lie sought help from DBS and reached out to Jalan Besar GRC MP Wan Rizal to waive the amount that was drawn from the bank accounts. She made a police report on Sept 18.
The police confirmed that investigations are ongoing.

When contacted, DBS said it has dedicated resources to “act swiftly and assist” customers who are scammed, including a dedicated fraud hotline – 1800-339-6963 (from Singapore) or (+65) 6339-6963 (from overseas). It also has a safety switch function on the digibank app, which would temporarily block access to funds.
“We will assist these customers with necessary follow-up actions, which include making a police report, or replacing their cards/re-securing their accounts,” DBS said.
“As we intensify efforts to protect our customers, heightened vigilance and collective effort is crucial in combating scams and fraud.”
Ms Lie asked how the large sums in foreign currency were transferred out of her accounts without any notifications sent to her.
“Why didn’t I get any e-mails or one-time passwords (OTPs) from the bank (to verify the transactions)? What if I hadn’t checked my bank account? I wouldn’t have known that my money was stolen,” she added.
There have been similar scams recently in which “sellers” send victims payment links that download malware into their phones, enabling scammers to control their devices remotely and drain their bank accounts.
Following OCBC Bank’s lead, UOB and DBS recently announced greater controls aimed at protecting customers against malware-enabled scams.
DBS will be pushing out a new anti-malware tool on its DBS/POSB digibank app progressively from September. The anti-malware tool will restrict DBS users’ access to their DBS/POSB digibank app if it detects the presence of malware, apps downloaded from unverified app stores with accessibility permissions enabled, or ongoing screen sharing on a customer’s device.
Once a known malware is detected, customers will receive a pop-up notification requesting that they secure their devices. They can do so by disconnecting their mobile devices from the Internet and deleting suspicious apps to regain access to their banking app.

Android phone users who had downloaded apps from unofficial app stores that had risky accessibility settings, found that they were unable to access their OCBC online banking services. They would need to delete these apps or turn off the risky settings to use OCBC app banking services again.
UOB started rolling out two new security features on its UOB TMRW banking app on Wednesday. The first update will restrict customers’ access to their UOB TMRW app once any apps or tools that are sharing their mobile devices’ screens are detected.
The second update will restrict access to the banking app upon detection of any apps that were downloaded from third-party or unauthorised sites with risky permissions on customers’ mobile devices.

 

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74-year-old man loses $70k after downloading third-party app to buy Peking duck​

The scammer texted the elderly man on WhatsApp and instructed him to download a third-party app on his phone. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MR LOH
Sherlyn Sim

SEP 30, 2023

SINGAPORE – For six hours, a 74-year-old man chatted online with a friendly roast duck seller he met on Facebook, only to find his life savings almost wiped out soon after.
The elderly man, who wanted to be known only as Mr Loh, lost about $70,000 to scammers who siphoned money from his DBS and POSB credit card and bank accounts after infecting his Android phone with malware.
He had chanced upon a Facebook advertisement for a Peking duck from a supplier called “Xiao Xiao Ya Zi” on Aug 26.
He was enticed by the deal that offered $23.80 for a 1.5kg Peking duck with $5 shipping and contacted the seller on Facebook.
The seller texted Mr Loh on WhatsApp and instructed him through voice messages to download a third-party app called Grab&Go on his phone. The app prompted him to make a $5 payment through PayNow as a “deposit” before his order could be placed.
Mr Loh, who used to work as an importer, was initially suspicious of the ad but let his guard down when the seller convinced him that the promotion was not a scam.
“I asked him: ‘Is this a scam?’ He said that no one would be cheated of $5 and that this was a small thing. He told me that I had a lot of wisdom and experience. I agreed to proceed since this was a matter of only $5,” he told The Straits Times.

Within minutes, while he was still chatting with the seller, he noticed that his phone screen had gone blank.
When his phone restarted multiple times within 30 minutes, Mr Loh tried to close the third-party app and turn off his phone but failed.
Panicking, Mr Loh reached out to the scammer, who then reassured him that the phone reset was normal.

His wife, who overheard the conversation, realised something was amiss and called their daughter. She then got her brother to call DBS Bank immediately.
The bank officer told the family that the scammers had raised Mr Loh’s transaction limit, which was set at $3,000. They transferred about $59,000 out of his DBS current account and POSB savings account. The scammers also took a credit advance of about $11,000 using his DBS credit card.
He said he had set aside that money for his retirement and medical expenses.
“I couldn’t believe the news. I thought: Why am I so stupid? I was so angry at myself for being cheated of my life savings. My family is frustrated and I ended up quarrelling with my wife,” said Mr Loh, who has three children.

His daughter, who wants to be known only as Ms Ang, said that she had warned her parents about such scams.
“As his children, we are all heartbroken that he was scammed even after we educated our parents about such scams. We thought we had done enough to minimise the risk,” she added.
Mr Loh sought help from DBS and made a police report on Aug 27.
The police confirmed that a report had been made and investigations are ongoing.
Mr Loh also questioned why he did not receive any notifications when his transaction limits were increased.
“I know that some banks require a 12-hour cooling-off period when there is an increase (in funds transfer limits). But my credit limit was changed immediately without my permission and knowledge,” he said.
When contacted, DBS said it has dedicated resources to “act swiftly” to help customers who are scammed. They can call the anti-fraud hotline on 1800-339-6963.
DBS also has a safety switch function on its digibank app, which can temporarily block access to funds.
“As we intensify efforts to protect our customers, heightened vigilance and collective effort are crucial in combating scams and fraud,” said DBS, which also runs POSB.
Mr Loh has since changed his mobile phone and deleted his Facebook and Internet banking apps.
He said: “What I learnt was to not trust people online so easily. I’m not familiar with technology, so it would be best to ask my children to help me buy something online rather than do it myself.”
In the first half of 2023, at least $10 million in total was lost by more than 750 scam victims due to unauthorised banking transactions performed by malware, which also resets the victims’ phones.
Scammers, under the guise of “selling” everything from moon cakes to fish and durian day tour tickets on social media, have been instructing interested buyers to click on links to download third-party apps, which then allow the crooks to take control of the victims’ phones.
OCBC, UOB and DBS have recently announced greater controls aimed at protecting customers against malware-enabled scams.
For example, DBS is progressively pushing out a new anti-malware tool on its DBS/POSB digibank app, starting in September.
The anti-malware tool restricts users’ access to the DBS app if it detects the presence of malware, apps downloaded from unverified app stores with accessibility permissions enabled, or ongoing screen sharing on a customer’s device.
Once a known malware is detected, customers will receive a pop-up notification requesting that they secure their devices. They can do so by disconnecting their mobile devices from the Internet and deleting suspicious apps to regain access to their banking app.

 

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Ex-Wirecard employee gets 10 weeks’ jail over role in misappropriating $47,000​

See Lee Wee committed the offence after taking instructions from her superiors at Wirecard Asia. PHOTO: ST FILE

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Oct 10, 2023

SINGAPORE – A controlling manager at Wirecard Asia Holding took instructions from one of its then vice-presidents to take a “loan” from the firm before receiving $47,000 in her personal bank account in October 2018.
Acting on further instructions from Edo Kurniawan, who was the firm’s vice-president of controlling and international finance at the time, See Lee Wee handed $40,250 to an unknown man, and another $3,310 to Kurniawan.
See, 30, who used to work at Wirecard Asia, the Singapore subsidiary of German payment processing company Wirecard, used the remaining $3,440 on her personal expenses.
She was sentenced to 10 weeks’ jail on Tuesday after admitting she had worked with her then superiors – Kurniawan and Chai Ai Lim – to commit criminal breach of trust. Two counts of money laundering were taken into account.
See has since repaid $18,200 to Wirecard Asia.
In June 2023, two other former Wirecard Asia employees, including Chai, then 44, were sentenced to jail after they admitted to crimes, including criminal breach of trust.
James Aga Wardhana, then 40, was given 21 months’ jail, while Chai was sentenced to 10 months.

The cases of several others, including James Henry O’Sullivan, 48, who were allegedly involved in the Wirecard case here, are still pending.
Kurniawan, who left Singapore on Oct 10, 2018, before investigations into him started, is still at large. An Interpol red notice has been issued against him. Such a notice requests law enforcement units worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or other legal action.
For the current case, Deputy Public Prosecutor Vincent Ong said that in early October 2018, Kurniawan told Chai he needed to transfer $100,000 to one “India” and asked her if Wirecard Asia had funds available for such a transaction. She conducted a check and told him it had enough funds.

Kurniawan then approached See and told her he needed cash urgently. He asked her to take a loan from Wirecard Asia, withdraw some monies, and hand them to him as soon as possible.
He also told See that the loan would be converted into a purported bonus for her, so she did not have to worry about repaying it.
DPP Ong said: “(See) did not know the purpose of the transfer and did not inquire about it from Edo. While she felt... uncomfortable about the arrangement, she agreed to Edo’s suggestion.”

Soon after, Kurniawan told Chai he wanted the transfer of monies to be reflected as an “employee loan” to See. On Oct 5, 2018, Chai arranged for $47,000 to be transferred to See’s bank account.
Kurniawan then contacted See and gave her instructions on what to do with the monies.
The prosecutor said the purported loan to See was not converted into a bonus and due to See’s offence, Wirecard suffered a loss of $47,000.
On Tuesday, defence lawyer Derek Kang pleaded for See to be given not more than two months’ jail, stressing that she was a first-time offender and had taken instructions from her then superiors.
In June 2020, Wirecard filed for insolvency in Germany after admitting that €1.9 billion (S$2.75 billion) in cash was missing from its accounts. Its former chief executive Markus Braun and several other top executives were then arrested. Braun’s case in Germany is pending.

 

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Gone in 15 minutes: Woman loses $72.5k after downloading third-party app to sell used kitchen items​

The scammer posed as a buyer on Facebook and instructed the victim to download a third-party app on her mobile phone. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MADAM ABDUL
Sherlyn Sim

Oct 10, 2023

SINGAPORE – A 68-year-old woman lost more than $72,500 from her POSB bank account in 15 minutes after she downloaded a third-party app in a bid to sell her pre-loved kitchen appliances online.
What she downloaded turned out to be malware that enabled scammers to control her Android phone and drain money from her POSB savings account.
The victim, who wanted to be known only as Madam Abdul, a customer service officer, saw a Facebook advertisement on Sept 23 by a purported recycling company called E-Recycle that wanted to buy pre-loved furniture and electronics.
She was enticed by the deal, which offered between $30 and $100 for each pre-loved item, with free pick-up.
Hoping to sell several pre-loved kitchen appliances, including a steamboat set and grill, she contacted the so-called buyer through Facebook Messenger.
Unacquainted with e-commerce platform Carousell and reluctant to sell the electronics to the karung guni (rag-and-bone collectors) at a low price, she felt the Facebook advertiser offered convenience and more attractive rates.
The buyer texted her on WhatsApp and they conversed till late at night.

The next day, she spoke to the buyer on the phone and asked if he would also like to buy a leather suitcase of hers.
While on the phone, he said he transferred her $50 through PayNow, and would pay the remaining amount upon collection and valuation of her items.
He asked her to open her POSB digibank app to check if she received the payment. She followed his request but did not see the money.


Madam Abdul thought the payment transfer would require some time, so she did not think too much of it.
He later instructed her to download a third-party app called I-Recovery to list the items for a staff member to collect.
While on the phone with him, she received another call and wanted to hang up on him to answer it.

Madam Abdul saw a Facebook advertisement by a purported recycling company called E-Recycle that wanted to buy pre-loved furniture and electronics. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MADAM ABDUL
Her mobile phone screen began flickering, so she tried to decline the call, but all the buttons on her touchscreen were unresponsive. She tried to uninstall the app, but was unable to do so.
Alarmed, she told the buyer about it. He assured her that her phone was faulty. She became suspicious as her phone was not faulty before their call.
“I asked him: ‘Are you a scammer?’ He said he was not a scammer and not to offend him by comparing him to scammers that had posed as mooncake sellers,” she said.
Realising something was amiss, she told her roommate about the incident. Her roommate advised her to immediately turn her phone off and to call POSB.
The bank officer told Madam Abdul that the scammers raised her transaction limit, which was originally set at $3,000. They transferred about $68,500 out of her POSB savings account and another $4,000 shortly after.

Madam Abdul, who works at a training school, said she had set aside that money for her retirement, insurance and medical expenses.
“When I heard that almost 90 per cent of my savings was lost, I wanted to cry but no tears came out. That was my money saved over four decades. I knew about scam cases but still got tricked. I felt frustrated and foolish,” said Madam Abdul, who has one son.
Her son, who wanted to be known only as Mr Hakim, said that while he was heartbroken to hear that his mother was scammed, he understands that anyone could have fallen for the scam.
“We had read news about such scams, but didn’t realise that the threat was so close to us. She thought scammers would pose as sellers, not buyers. This is probably a new tactic and she wasn’t aware of it,” the 43-year-old educator added.
The mother and son said they hope to put aside their worries to focus on recovering the money. Madam Abdul sought help from POSB to have her account frozen and a new ATM card issued. She made a police report on Sept 24.
The police confirmed that a report had been made and investigations are ongoing.
POSB did not respond to a request for comment.
Madam Abdul has since changed her mobile phone and had her ATM card replaced as a precaution.
She said: “I have learnt to be more careful online. I was too eager to sell the items quickly.”
In the first half of 2023, at least $10 million was lost by more than 750 scam victims due to unauthorised banking transactions performed by malware, which also reset the victims’ phones.
There has been a series of scams recently in which “sellers” instruct interested buyers to click on links to download third-party apps that download malware into their phones, enabling scammers to control their devices remotely and drain their bank accounts.
Amid mounting mobile security threats, Singapore’s cyber-security watchdog Cyber Security Agency of Singapore has released a list of recommended antivirus apps, with features like malware and phishing detection.
OCBC Bank, UOB and DBS Bank have also recently announced tighter controls aimed at protecting customers against malware-enabled scams.
For example, DBS is progressively pushing out a new anti-malware tool on its DBS/POSB digibank app, starting in September. The anti-malware tool restricts users’ access to the DBS app if it detects the presence of malware, apps downloaded from unverified app stores with accessibility permissions enabled, or ongoing screen sharing on a customer’s device.

 

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Over $1m lost in 15 days: S’porean retiree loses life savings in scam by fake Facebook friend​

The scammer sent victim Madam Tan transfer statements from the British bank Barclays which helped ease her fears, but it was all a ruse. PHOTO: ST FILE

Aqil Hamzah

Oct 17, 2023

SINGAPORE – Accepting a friend request on Facebook from a stranger who asked for help has turned into a nightmare for a 65-year-old Singaporean retiree, who ended up losing her entire life’s savings of $1,078,053.62 in only 15 days.
Madam Tan (not her real name) met a man on the social media platform in August, and he claimed to be the Singaporean chief executive of an interior design firm in Britain. He also said he was about to complete his final project – a hotel in London – before retirement.
He then asked her to facilitate payments for him, and that made her distrustful initially.
He told her that he could not procure materials from companies in China, and had been referred to a particular one in Sabah, but as he could not speak Mandarin, he needed her to act as an intermediary.
To convince her that everything was legitimate, he made bank transfers to her account that were worth more than the cost of the materials, reassuring her that it would be credited within the span of two to four days.
He even claimed that he sent her the transfer statements from the British bank Barclays, showing her transfer statements that not only eased Madam Tan’s fears, but also convinced her to part with her money.
Except that it was all a ruse.

The transfer statements Madam Tan received, seen by The Straits Times, had telltale signs that they were fake.
First, there were the different font sizes used across the three documents. The dates also appeared to be formatted haphazardly, ranging from “Sep 04” to “Sep 5” and then “Sep 07”, among other inconsistencies.
ST has contacted Barclays with copies of the alleged transactions to find out if its statements resemble those that Madam Tan has with her.

Between Sept 4 and Sept 19, however, Madam Tan did not know any better. Although she was aware that she had not received any deposits into her bank account, she believed the scammer, who had told her the transfers would take a few days to be processed.
When told that she needed to continue making payments to settle additional fees such as shipping and taxes, she believed the scammer, and ended up making transfers of at least $20,000 each time. This took place on 22 occasions.

In the photos the man sent to Madam Tan, the transfer statements had telltale signs that they were fake, such as different font sizes and different date formats. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MADAM TAN
For her final transaction of $50,000, she even borrowed money from her 30-year-old son.
She said: “I had to take out money from my CPF account, and even took a bank loan of $24,000 to continually make the payments.
“I didn’t have enough money and asked my son for $10,000, which made him suspicious, but I told him that it was for a business opportunity, and that I would repay him when my fixed deposits matured.”
However, she had already withdrawn her fixed deposits by then to fund the transactions.
The scam was finally uncovered on Sept 20, after Madam Tan received a phone call from a Malaysian number and someone told her that her British “business partner” had been detained at the airport for having too much cash on hand. The “businessman” she befriended also told her the same story, which made it all the more believable.
She was told that in order for him to be cleared by the Malaysian authorities, she needed to fork out $98,000.

A snapshot of the WhatsApp conversation between Madam Tan (not her real name) and one of the scammers. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MADAM TAN
However, before she could approach her 32-year-old daughter for money, her son stopped her, telling her the large sums being requested were sure signs that she was being scammed.
When she attempted to contact the scammers to confront them, they ignored her.
Of the three phone numbers that Madam Tan provided ST, calls and messages to two lines went unanswered. The third number, which she had used to communicate with the alleged scammer via WhatsApp, was no longer linked to the messaging app.
“My children are so worried about me now, because it looks like I cannot retire already,” said Madam Tan, who declined to state her children’s occupations.
“I’ve been very frugal throughout my life. I worked when I was younger, and the money I saved was for me to use for healthcare in my older years, but now I’ve not only wiped out 40 years of my savings, I’m also in debt because of the bank loan.”

She added that she filed two police reports immediately after. The police have confirmed they are investigating the matter.
Her daughter also helped her to write to the different banks – UOB and Standard Chartered, which she has accounts with, as well as DBS and OCBC, where she had transferred the money to – for help.
In response to queries, OCBC said it will assist the police with their investigations. ST has contacted the other banks for more information.
Madam Tan is among a growing number of scam victims.
In the first half of 2023, there were 22,339 scam cases reported, a 64.5 per cent increase from the 13,576 reported during the same period in 2022.
Victims lost a total of $334.5 million from January to June, a slight dip from the $342.1 million that was lost during the same period last year.

 

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Forum: Urgent need to bring back physical token for bank transactions​

Nov 1, 2023

The spike in malware scam cases in July and August compared with the first half of this year is alarming. Around 650 victims lost $10.6 million in these two months, compared with 750 victims losing $10 million in the earlier six months (Spike in malware scam victims in July and August, with $10.6m lost, Oct 15).

The case for bringing back physical tokens for bank transactions is compelling (Build in enough slack for digital solutions in case of failure, Oct 30). A physical token provides true two-factor authentication (2FA) as a separate device from the phone and a high level of old-fashioned protection we can all understand.

Technology is constantly evolving and the best software security today will be defeated by tomorrow’s hack. Proponents of Smart Nation initiatives need to recognise the limits of digitalisation. By all means, digitalise, but retain good security practices that work.

Not only do the anti-malware tools to be introduced in new banking apps and the proposed money-lock features create new issues for users, but they also do not plug the security gap like the good old physical token.

There is an urgent need to bring back the token, so as to restore trust in digital banking in the wake of escalating scam cases that may soon prove too heavy a burden for the police and society.

Margaret See

 

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Forum: Ensure customers are fully aware of scams before setting up Internet banking for them​

Singapore has witnessed a worrying rise in online scams, many of which target the elderly, says the writer.Encouraging seniors to engage in online bankingwithout ensuring they have adequate digital literacy is risky. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Dec 5, 2023

I would like to express my deep concerns regarding my mother’s recent experience at a bank.
My mother, a senior citizen, visited the POSB branch in Clementi where she was encouraged to set up Internet banking. While I recognise and appreciate the bank’s efforts to usher seniors into the digital age, I question the appropriateness of this approach, particularly in the light of the level of her digital literacy.
The fact that she required assistance to set up the account is a clear indicator of her limited digital savviness.
Singapore has witnessed a worrying rise in online scams, many of which target the elderly. Encouraging seniors like my mother to engage in online banking without ensuring they have adequate digital literacy and awareness is not only risky, but could also be seen as inconsiderate of their specific vulnerabilities.
Moreover, the potential repercussions of such actions are not limited to the individuals alone. In the unfortunate event of a scam, there are significant financial and emotional losses for the victims, as well as financial and reputational damage to the bank.
I suggest that banks implement a policy where individuals are required to go through a comprehensive scam awareness and assessment programme before being assisted in setting up Internet banking accounts.
This approach would serve to protect both the customer and the bank from the adverse consequences of online financial fraud.

 

[laksaboy]

My mother, a senior citizen, visited the POSB branch in Clementi where she was encouraged to set up Internet banking. While I recognise and appreciate the bank’s efforts to usher seniors into the digital age, I question the appropriateness of this approach, particularly in the light of the level of her digital literacy.

There's that problem right there. Your mistake is to assume that this regime's intentions are benevolent.

 

[Majulah]

i certainly believe all these online scams can be stopped by introducing a law that severely punish the person who write the app.
so far we only heard the scammers being arrested . how come they dont go a step further to track where is the source of the app ?
like they do this with drugs trafficking

 

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At least $1.8m lost to property rental scams from July to November: Police​

Scammers would impersonate property agencies and provide fake invoices or letters of intent. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
Thian Wen Li

DEC 12, 2023

SINGAPORE – Some 287 people have lost at least $1.8 million between July and November 2023 to scammers posing as property agents, police said on Dec 11.
These victims were pressured into making payments to secure a viewing or rent a property, said police in a statement, warning that there was a resurgence of such scam cases.
Victims would respond to sponsored property rental listings on social media platforms, with Facebook being the most common. Other platforms include online marketplace Carousell and rental advertisement sites.
The scammers would pose as actual property agents registered with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA). When contacted using WhatsApp by their victims, the scammers would send them photos of a CEA registration number, business cards and virtual tours of the purported rental property, said police.
But the contact numbers used by these criminals would differ from the contact details of the legitimate agents they posed as.
Scammers would press the victims into making a deposit to view the property by claiming that demand for the unit was high.
In some cases, at least 77 victims have lost $473,000 in total after they were asked to meet fake “personal assistants” to view a property, added police.

After the viewing, these victims were told to provide personal details for the tenancy agreement and pay rent using bank transfers or PayNow.
Victims would learn that they have been duped after scammers cut off contact with them or when they reached out to the actual property agent who was being impersonated.

Scammers would pressure victims into paying deposits to secure rental viewings. In some cases, scammers would ask victims to send personal details such as photos of NRIC or Work Permit. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

Scammers would get victims to pay a deposit to be taken on a virtual tour of the property instead of a physical viewing. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
The police urge the public to check whether phone numbers advertised in property listing correspond with those of actual agents on the CEA Public Register. Otherwise, the property listing is likely to be a scam.
“Do not rely on Facebook or Carousell listings or the assurances of the scammer over WhatsApp,” said police.
Police also said that property agents are not permitted to demand payment for property viewings, and that rental deposits must be paid to the landlord’s bank accounts, not a personal bank account or PayNow number.
Victims should also report the fraudulent pages to the online platforms they are listed on, said police.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688.

 

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S'pore couple tries to sell their old sofa for S$600, gets scammed S$45,000 instead​

DBS Bank has offered to compensate them half of the amount lost.
Daniel Seow
December 15, 2023

A couple in Singapore thought they were selling off their old sofa to a secondhand buyer on Oct. 5, but the person turned out to be a scammer who siphoned S$45,000 from their bank accounts instead.

The couple subsequently reported the scam to DBS Bank, which in turn offered to reimburse them half of the funds lost, according to Lianhe Zaobao.

Asked to open a link to check "delivery invoice"​

The husband, 35, who wished to be known only as Singh, told Zaobao that he had come across an advertisement looking to purchase secondhand items on Facebook in October.
Thinking of selling his old sofa, Singh reached out to the other party on Facebook to ask if he was interested.
They subsequently continued the conversation over WhatsApp.
After some back and forth, the scammer agreed to buy Singh's sofa for S$600.
During a follow-up call, the scammer sent Singh a link, and instructed him to open it in order to check the delivery invoice number.
He was told to show the invoice to the courier personnel upon collection of the sofa.
Singh followed the instruction and clicked into the link.
The scammer then informed Singh that he had made the payment of S$600, and asked him to login to his digibank app on his phone, to check if he had received it.
In hindsight, Singh admitted that the scammers had probably taken control of his phone by this point.
DBS confirmed with Mothership that the incident took place on Oct. 5.

Scammers controlled his phone, siphoned S$45,000​

In the evening of the same day, the scammers called Singh again to arrange for the collection of the sofa, according to Zaobao.
By this time, however, he had discovered that his phone had been compromised.
Singh realised that someone had used his personal details to open a new DBS Multiplier account and raise the transaction limits for his bank accounts.
Seeing this, his wife immediately notified DBS via the anti-scam hotline that Singh's phone had been infected by malware.
The staff told her to switch off the phone and make a police report.
However, it was too late.
Through a series of three transactions, Singh's personal account and the joint account with his wife, were wiped clean by the scammers.
They lost more than S$45,000 of their life savings in total.

Couple hopes DBS can compensate the full amount​

The next day, the couple contacted DBS again, hoping to recover the lost funds.
After some discussion, the bank reportedly offered to compensate them half of the amount lost, as a goodwill gesture.
Singh, however, told Zaobao that he doesn't understand how such a large amount of money could be transferred without his authorisation.
He said the scammers had wiped out their savings, forcing them to rely on their monthly income to pay off their car loan, raise their two children, pay for a domestic helper and other expenses.
He and his wife are still hoping that the bank will compensate them the full amount that the scammers took.
"Accepting [this sum of'] money from the bank would be admitting that I made a mistake," he added.

Anti-malware tools have been rolled out progressively from end-September: DBS​

In response to Mothership's enquiries, a DBS spokesperson said that the bank has rolled out an anti-malware tool which prevents scammers from fraudulently logging into customers’ digibank accounts.
This was progressively rolled out from end-September, and as of November, the roll-out has been completed, the spokesperson added.
The tool will restrict the customer's access to the digital banking app if malware, apps from unverified app stores with accessibility permission enabled, or ongoing screen-sharing or mirroring was detected on their device.
Regarding scam cases, the spokesperson said that DBS will assess the victims’ circumstances and offer goodwill payouts on a case-by-case basis.
The bank also partners with TOUCH Counselling to offer counselling services to victims who may need emotional support.

What customers can do in case of scams​

DBS also highlighted a few ways that customers can protect themselves from a suspected scam.
One is to call the DBS 24-hour Lost Cards and Fraud Reporting hotline at 1800 339 6963 (from Singapore) or (+65) 6339 6963 (from overseas).
Alternatively, they can activate the safety switch function via digibank to temporarily block access to their funds.
Customers can also report the scam at any DBS branch counter, and a branch manager will assist them urgently, the bank said.
The Singapore Police Force confirmed with Zaobao that a report had been lodged and investigations are ongoing.

 

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Over $1m lost in 15 days: S’porean retiree loses life savings in scam by fake Facebook friend​

The scammer sent victim Madam Tan transfer statements from the British bank Barclays which helped ease her fears, but it was all a ruse. PHOTO: ST FILE

Aqil Hamzah

Oct 17, 2023

SINGAPORE – Accepting a friend request on Facebook from a stranger who asked for help has turned into a nightmare for a 65-year-old Singaporean retiree, who ended up losing her entire life’s savings of $1,078,053.62 in only 15 days.
Madam Tan (not her real name) met a man on the social media platform in August, and he claimed to be the Singaporean chief executive of an interior design firm in Britain. He also said he was about to complete his final project – a hotel in London – before retirement.
He then asked her to facilitate payments for him, and that made her distrustful initially.
He told her that he could not procure materials from companies in China, and had been referred to a particular one in Sabah, but as he could not speak Mandarin, he needed her to act as an intermediary.
To convince her that everything was legitimate, he made bank transfers to her account that were worth more than the cost of the materials, reassuring her that it would be credited within the span of two to four days.
He even claimed that he sent her the transfer statements from the British bank Barclays, showing her transfer statements that not only eased Madam Tan’s fears, but also convinced her to part with her money.
Except that it was all a ruse.

The transfer statements Madam Tan received, seen by The Straits Times, had telltale signs that they were fake.
First, there were the different font sizes used across the three documents. The dates also appeared to be formatted haphazardly, ranging from “Sep 04” to “Sep 5” and then “Sep 07”, among other inconsistencies.
ST has contacted Barclays with copies of the alleged transactions to find out if its statements resemble those that Madam Tan has with her.

Between Sept 4 and Sept 19, however, Madam Tan did not know any better. Although she was aware that she had not received any deposits into her bank account, she believed the scammer, who had told her the transfers would take a few days to be processed.
When told that she needed to continue making payments to settle additional fees such as shipping and taxes, she believed the scammer, and ended up making transfers of at least $20,000 each time. This took place on 22 occasions.

In the photos the man sent to Madam Tan, the transfer statements had telltale signs that they were fake, such as different font sizes and different date formats. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MADAM TAN
For her final transaction of $50,000, she even borrowed money from her 30-year-old son.
She said: “I had to take out money from my CPF account, and even took a bank loan of $24,000 to continually make the payments.
“I didn’t have enough money and asked my son for $10,000, which made him suspicious, but I told him that it was for a business opportunity, and that I would repay him when my fixed deposits matured.”
However, she had already withdrawn her fixed deposits by then to fund the transactions.
The scam was finally uncovered on Sept 20, after Madam Tan received a phone call from a Malaysian number and someone told her that her British “business partner” had been detained at the airport for having too much cash on hand. The “businessman” she befriended also told her the same story, which made it all the more believable.
She was told that in order for him to be cleared by the Malaysian authorities, she needed to fork out $98,000.

A snapshot of the WhatsApp conversation between Madam Tan (not her real name) and one of the scammers. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MADAM TAN
However, before she could approach her 32-year-old daughter for money, her son stopped her, telling her the large sums being requested were sure signs that she was being scammed.
When she attempted to contact the scammers to confront them, they ignored her.
Of the three phone numbers that Madam Tan provided ST, calls and messages to two lines went unanswered. The third number, which she had used to communicate with the alleged scammer via WhatsApp, was no longer linked to the messaging app.
“My children are so worried about me now, because it looks like I cannot retire already,” said Madam Tan, who declined to state her children’s occupations.
“I’ve been very frugal throughout my life. I worked when I was younger, and the money I saved was for me to use for healthcare in my older years, but now I’ve not only wiped out 40 years of my savings, I’m also in debt because of the bank loan.”

She added that she filed two police reports immediately after. The police have confirmed they are investigating the matter.
Her daughter also helped her to write to the different banks – UOB and Standard Chartered, which she has accounts with, as well as DBS and OCBC, where she had transferred the money to – for help.
In response to queries, OCBC said it will assist the police with their investigations. ST has contacted the other banks for more information.
Madam Tan is among a growing number of scam victims.
In the first half of 2023, there were 22,339 scam cases reported, a 64.5 per cent increase from the 13,576 reported during the same period in 2022.
Victims lost a total of $334.5 million from January to June, a slight dip from the $342.1 million that was lost during the same period last year.

Another mule?

 

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7 victims lose $27k to phishing scam involving fake Domino’s Pizza websites​

The phishing websites had similar layouts and Web addresses to those of the company, such as domino-plza.com and order.domino.piza.com. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

Kolette Lim

DEC 19, 2023

SINGAPORE – Seven victims suffered losses totalling about $27,000 after falling prey to a new phishing scam involving fake Domino’s Pizza websites from Nov 25 to Dec 6, the police said.
The victims clicked on a phishing website after searching for “Domino’s Pizza” on online search engines, said the police in a statement on Dec 16. These websites had similar layouts and Web addresses to those of the company, such as domino-plza.com and order.domino.piza.com.
Domino’s genuine website address is dominos.com.sg
Victims would place orders on the phishing websites and disclose their credit card details to make the payments. Scammers would then misuse their credit card details. The victims realised they had been scammed after finding unauthorised transactions made with their cards.
The police advised the public to add the ScamShield application on their devices and enable security features, such as two-factor or multi-factor authentication for banks and Internet banking transaction limits.
The public can check for signs of scams using the ScamShield Bot on WhatsApp. They can also visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688.
The police urged the public to look out for telltale signs of phishing websites, and verify if the deals offered are available by visiting the company’s official website.

If in doubt, remember to never share personal information or payment card details with anyone.

 

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At least $314,000 lost to fake buyer phishing scams since early December: Police​

After agreeing to the sale of the items, the victims would receive a malicious URL link or QR code. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

Sherlyn Sim

DEC 21, 2023


SINGAPORE – Scammers have stolen at least $314,000 from 132 victims through fake buyer phishing scams so far in December 2023.
The police on Dec 19 warned the public to be on their guard against a resurgence of these scams on Carousell and Facebook.
In this type of scam, victims typically receive in-app messages from scammers expressing interest in items that the victims list on the platforms.
After agreeing to the sale, the victims receive a malicious link or QR code via e-mail, in-app messaging or WhatsApp saying they have received payment for the item or asking them to pay for courier services such as Lalamove to facilitate delivery of the item.
Those who click on the phishing links or scan the QR codes would be redirected to a spoofed website to provide their Internet banking login credentials, credit card details and one-time password.
It is only when victims discover unauthorised transactions made on their bank accounts and cards that they realise they have been scammed.
The police advise the public to take precautions such as using the ScamShield app, enabling security features like transaction limits for Internet banking, and setting up two-factor authentication.

The police also urge the public to check for signs of scams through official sources such as the Anti-Scam Helpline or the Scam Alert website.
They also urge people to report any suspicious user to the e-commerce platform and any fraudulent transactions to the bank immediately.
Those with details on scams can submit the information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness or call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
Those who require urgent police assistance can dial 999.
For more information on scams, please visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688.

 

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10 victims lose at least $9,000 to phishing scam involving supposed tax refunds​

Scammers impersonating Iras personnel would inform recipients that they are eligible for refunds due to prior overcharging of payments. PHOTOS: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

Gabrielle Chan

DEC 21, 2023

SINGAPORE - About 10 victims have lost at least $9000 since Dec 9 to scams involving supposed refunds from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras).
The police said on Dec 20 that victims of this phishing scam variant would receive e-mails from scammers impersonating Iras personnel.
The e-mails would inform recipients that they are eligible for a refund due to prior “overcharging”.
A weblink, which directs victims to a phishing website impersonating the Iras website, would require victims to select their preferred refund method via debit or credit card.
Victims would then enter their bank card details and one-time passwords (OTPs) on the phishing website.
They would discover they had been scammed only after receiving notifications of unauthorised transactions made on their debit or credit cards.
The public is advised to adopt precautionary measures such as using the ScamShield application and setting security features like enabling two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication for banks, said the police.

They added that the public should check for signs of scams with official sources – such as the Anti-Scam Helpline or the Scam Alert website – and verify the authenticity of claims of problems with their income tax status with the official Iras website.
Personal or banking credentials as well as OTPs should never be disclosed to anyone, the police said.
All fraudulent transactions should be reported to the bank immediately. Those with information relating to scams should call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
For more information on scams, please visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688.

 

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Jail for man who duped 20 victims of about $2.5m in investment scam​

Murali Krishnan Naidu had duped them into thinking that their money would be invested in a moneylending business set up by his wife. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

Shaffiq Alkhatib
Court Correspondent

Jan 22, 2024

SINGAPORE – A man cheated 20 people, including his family friends and acquaintances, of some $2.5 million in total in an investment scam between 2008 and 2013.
Murali Krishnan Naidu had duped them into thinking that their money would be invested in a moneylending business set up by his wife.
Most of the victims had drawn from their retirement savings to fund the “investments”, according to court documents.
The 53-year-old Singaporean, who has made no restitution, was sentenced to seven years and four months’ jail on Jan 22, after he was earlier convicted of 17 counts of cheating linked to nine people.
Another 43 charges, including those involving the remaining victims, were considered during sentencing.
The prosecution said that in August 2006, Murali’s wife incorporated in Singapore a licensed moneylending company known as San Tee Credit (STC).
She was its sole proprietor while he was a manager there.

Before STC was established, Murali worked at another moneylending company known as Diamond Credit from 2003 to 2006.
He was familiar with how such firms raised funds for their moneylending operations.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Jordon Li and Yeow Xuan said Murali knew it was common for moneylending companies to borrow cash from investors through investment agreements.

They would then lend out these monies to their customers.
The firms would pay the investors interest on the sums borrowed, which would typically be lower than the interest which they charge on loans.
One of Murali’s victims was a 69-year-old woman who had entered into six investment agreements totalling $335,000 with STC. She had funded the investments with her life savings.
His other victims included a 49-year-old woman who entered into two investment agreements totalling nearly $120,000 with STC. She funded them by refinancing her home in Malaysia.
The prosecution said Murali had made false representations to the victims by saying their monies would be invested in STC’s moneylending business.

He typically promised the victims returns of between 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent that would be paid out monthly, along with a repayment of their investment capital one year from the date of the investment agreement.
Murali then induced his victims to hand over their money, but completely stopped paying dividends to them in early 2013.
To date, it is unclear how he had utilised the victims’ money, said the prosecutors.
Screenings by the Registry of Moneylenders showed STC had not concluded any moneylending transactions between 2011 and 2013.
The DPPs told the court: “Despite the absence of any business activities undertaken by STC, the accused continued to pay the requisite fees to renew STC’s moneylending licence with the Registry of Moneylenders.
“This fortified the accused’s representations that STC was a legitimate and live moneylending business.”
It is not stated in court documents what happened to STC after 2013.
Court documents also did not disclose how the offences came to light, but Murali was charged in court in 2019.
The DPPs had urged the court to sentence him to at least seven years and 10 months’ jail.
“While the accused has claimed to have made some payments of ‘investment returns’ to the victims, the existence of such payments should be accorded minimal mitigatory weight,” they said.
“The returns were paid so as to lend a veneer of legitimacy to the scheme, and to encourage investors to continue pooling money in the scheme.”
They also said his offences had involved a high degree of premeditation and planning.
For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

 

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$2.6 million lost to scammers posing as MAS officers since start of 2023​

At least 41 victims have fallen prey to the ruse, which is a variant of the government official impersonation scam. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Aqil Hamzah

DEC 28, 2023

SINGAPORE - At least $2.6 million have been lost since January to scammers who pretended to be officers from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
At least 41 victims have fallen prey to the ruse, which is a variant of the government official impersonation scam, said the police and MAS in a joint statement on Dec 21.
Posing as bank officers, the fraudsters rang victims to verify transactions they had allegedly made, although the transactions did not take place.
When the victims denied making them or possessing the bank cards in question, the scammers redirected them to another conman posing as an MAS officer.
The “officer” accused the victims of various crimes, such as money laundering or fraud. In some cases, they referred the victims to yet another scammer – a “police officer” – to ramp up the pressure.
They then instructed the victims to transfer money to specific bank accounts supposedly used by the authorities, or asked for their banking credentials – all under the guise of official-sounding reasons, such as investigations.
The victims realised they had been scammed only after the fraudsters became uncontactable, or after checking with their banks or the police.

MAS and the police said their officers would never ask the public to transfer money, or request control of bank accounts or Internet banking credentials.
The authorities said that banking credentials and credit card details should not be shared with anyone through the phone, e-mail, SMS or via messaging applications.
People should not let others access their bank accounts or Singpass either.
Authentication requests should not be authorised if transactions were not made personally, the statement said.
As a precaution, the authorities suggested that people lock up their funds – a feature DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and UOB introduced in November.
Money that is locked up can be withdrawn only in person as a fail-safe against fraudsters siphoning money out of bank accounts after gaining access to a user’s digital devices.

 

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Police probing perfume subscription service I’vre after complaints of wrong charges, unfulfilled orders​

Online luxury scent subscription service I’vre offered three plans, with the cheapest priced at $19.95 a month. PHOTO: IVRE
Carmen Sin

DEC 21, 2023

SINGAPORE – The police are investigating online luxury scent subscription service I’vre after disgruntled customers filed reports claiming they were wrongly charged and never received their orders.
Self-professed perfume fanatic Srimala Balakrishnan had $494.50 charged to her debit card by the company in November even after she cancelled her subscription, she told The Straits Times.
The 41-year-old nurse had seen an advertisement for the company – whose name is derived from the French word for “drunk” – on social media in May and was enticed by its deals, she said.
She bought a premium subscription plan for $44.95 a month to receive three sample-sized bottles of perfume every month, picked out from I’vre’s inventory of designer fragrances. These came in I’vre-branded 8ml spray bottles called atomisers.
The company offered two other plans. The cheapest one, priced at $19.95, entitled customers to choose one bottle a month from its catalogue of more than 200 scents, while the $34.95 plan allowed customers to choose two bottles monthly.
Everything went swimmingly for the first two months, but from the third month, Ms Balakrishnan noticed that every time she ordered a more expensive scent – anything that retailed above $400 for a 50ml bottle – it would invariably be out of stock and she would be forced to settle for a cheaper one.
She also started to doubt the authenticity of the scents she received, after the well-known Victoria’s Secret (VS) Bombshell perfume she ordered smelled “very off”.


A check at a VS boutique confirmed her suspicions that she had not received VS’ Bombshell, she said.
Though she had hoped to support the young founders behind I’vre – Mr Christian Kwok, 22, and Ms Elaine Yuan, 23 – these red flags made her cancel her subscription in October, said Ms Balakrishnan.
The next month, she found out that $494.50 had been charged to her debit card by I’vre. This was 11 times her previous subscription fee.


An e-mail from the company to Ms Balakrishnan, seen by ST, blamed the charge on a system bug and claimed a refund was being processed.
But to date, she has not been refunded and the company has stopped replying to her, said Ms Balakrishnan, who filed a police report on Nov 28, seen by ST.
Accounts mirroring Ms Balakrishnan’s have surfaced online in recent weeks, with a flurry of complaints from customers of repeat charges to their bank accounts – also attributed by the company to a system bug – unfulfilled orders and refunds promised but not received.
On Dec 5, the company announced on its website and through an e-mail to its customers that it had been acquired and would close down, despite celebrating its first anniversary with a yacht party only two months before.
In a thread on the Reddit forum, the news stoked anxiety among customers still waiting for refunds, even as I’vre began promoting its clearance sale on its website, with luxury bottles worth hundreds going for $100 a pop.
Another aggrieved customer, Ms S., who did not want to disclose her name, said she bought two bottles of perfume in the clearance sale even though she was worried that she had not been refunded after being wrongly charged in November and December.
She has not received her orders from the sale, which cost $200, added the marketing executive, 27.
“I’m just in shock that I ignored so many red flags,” she said.
“But money is still money. I’m angry.”


In response to ST’s queries, Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) president Melvin Yong said Case had received 17 complaints against I’vre as at Dec 14. All were filed between Nov 1 and Dec 20 for overcharging and unfulfilled orders, he added.
Two police reports made against the subscription service were seen by ST. When contacted, the police confirmed that investigations were under way.
In response to queries from ST, Mr Kwok said I’vre is no longer accepting new orders after its clearance sale, and is fully focused on fulfilling existing orders.
He added that the company would not close down until all existing customers were satisfied.
Mr Kwok also clarified that only parts of the company had been acquired, not the entire operation.
He denied all allegations of impropriety, citing a lack of manpower as the reason for slow order fulfilment and handling of customer inquiries.
In the last two months, the company had been plagued by internal issues, he added, and the team was cut from 10 employees to four.
I’vre also suffered cash flow issues after its lead investor Seed Ventures cut funding, said Mr Kwok.
Addressing claims of repeat charges, Mr Kwok said there had been a “misconception”.
The company used third-party systems Shopify and Seal Subscriptions for its transactions, but they would misinterpret customers’ custom orders and charge customers several times the fixed price, he said.
He added: “Since our launch in October 2022, we countered this issue by having our team manually make price changes (for) each individual customer.
“The issue at hand for us currently is that we lack the manpower to accomplish such a large task within a short timeframe.”
Mr Kwok denied all accusations of charging customers without delivering products, stonewalling customers and delivering cheaper or different perfumes from the ones ordered.
“As for our closing-down sale, we have made it clear to our customers that shipping may take some time, and we aim to have it all delivered before Christmas Day. However, we understand that, due to our lack of customer support at the moment, our customers may get the wrong impression,” he said.

 

[LITTLEREDDOT]

Singaporean family desperate after egg scam wipes out S$150,000 in life savings​

WhatsApp text conversations between Mr Singh and the egg "seller", with Mr Singh sending screenshots of a login page where he keyed in his bank details.

BY

KOH WAN TING​

December 27, 2023

SINGAPORE — Near the end of every year, the Singh family sets up a Christmas tree dotted with presents for friends and relatives coming over to celebrate the festivities.
But for 2023, their Christmas tree stood in a corner of their flat, bereft of gifts.
Presents are the last thing on their minds, after the family of five tried to buy eggs online but fell victim to an e-commerce scam that wiped out more than S$150,000 (US$113,310) in life savings, spread across four bank accounts and a credit card.
That was the money that would have paid for the teenage children's university fees; their 81-year-old grandmother's medical expenses; their housing loan; and eventual retirement for Mr and Mrs Singh.
The family declined to be named in full, citing the need to protect themselves from further scams.

Their case is not unique. Malware scams, which involve victims downloading apps that infect their phones with malware, are on the rise in Singapore.
In the first half of 2023, there were more than 750 incidents of Android device users falling prey to such scams, amounting to at least S$10 million lost.
Banks have been rolling out dedicated security measures in response, but the evolving nature and technology behind the scams have proved challenging to tackle.
And the likes of Mr Singh, the 57-year-old head of the family, are paying the price.
"I couldn't believe it," the communications supervisor told CNA in an interview over the weekend, just two days shy of Christmas. "I'm very careful. And I tell my mum to be careful of scams happening everywhere.
"Can anyone imagine their life savings being completely wiped out in a single day?"

The ordeal started on Nov 26, when Mr Singh's wife came across a Facebook advertisement selling organic eggs.
She decided to give it a try, and together with her husband clicked on an "order" button. The couple was directed to a WhatsApp chat with a "seller" who went by the name of Jason.
Jason assured them about the quality of the eggs and asked for a deposit to be placed via an app, with the remainder to be paid upon delivery. He then sent a link to download the app.
Mr Singh installed the app, used it to order 60 eggs, and was led to a payment page that looked strikingly similar to UOB's.
Mr Singh then keyed in the login details of his UOB account. The transaction failed.
He informed Jason of the problem and tried to cancel his order, but Jason insisted on proceeding with the delivery, which he claimed would be on the next day.

On Nov 27, Mr Singh received not eggs but a call from a UOB customer service officer, asking about a hefty credit card transaction which Mr Singh "vehemently denied".
He checked his bank accounts with both UOB and DBS and found, to his horror, that all of his funds had been depleted.
"When (I saw) zero, zero, zero I think I went into a state of shock. Like I became a zombie. I didn't know what to do," said Mr Singh.
"I immediately contacted my wife ... and said that we have been scammed," Mr Singh recalled. "We were trembling when we were at the police station and my wife broke down and she still breaks down."
The Singapore Police Force confirmed to CNA that a report was lodged and that investigations are ongoing.
The Singhs have also reached out to the banks involved.

His UOB account had logged a series of outgoing S$15,000 transactions, while nearly S$30,000 was siphoned from his DBS one.
Mr Singh said he did not receive any notifications, alerts or one-time passwords to permit the transactions - even though he usually received these for transactions involving much smaller amounts.
He has several questions, including why the scammers were able to access his credit card details - which he did not disclose - as well as other bank accounts.
"The banks should take responsibility, at least partial responsibility," Mr Singh added. "I'm not the one who went down and withdrew the money and gave it to the scammer ... I wasn't even aware this thing was happening."
He said he had trusted the banks to safeguard his money, and that they should have recognised and stopped the fraudulent transactions.
Responding to CNA's queries, both UOB and DBS said they were aware of Mr Singh's case and were in contact with him.

"Protecting our customers is a priority to UOB. With an increasing number of scam cases reported in Singapore, UOB has progressively introduced various security controls and measures to combat this scourge," a UOB spokesperson said.
"That said, our customers remain the singular most effective defence and we strongly urge them to exercise vigilance and caution in this ever-evolving threat landscape."
DBS said it assesses the circumstances of victims and offers goodwill payouts on a case-by-case basis.
"Beyond financial assistance, we also partner with counselling centres to offer counselling services to victims who may need emotional support," a spokesperson said.
She cited examples of measures DBS customers can take to secure their funds.
DigiVault, launched last month, lets customers lock up their money in an account from which funds cannot be digitally transferred out. Customers need to personally visit a branch - where their identity will be verified - before they can access funds. CNA