The victim grew suspicious after installing the app
The seller directed her to download their company’s mobile app to place an order. However, upon installing the app, she grew suspicious and chose not to respond further to the seller.
Subsequently, the seller claimed that a colleague had transferred S$20 to Ms. Lee’s account via PayNow as a reward for opening an account. Despite the claim, Ms. Lee remained cautious and did not verify if the money had indeed been received.
Seeking advice, she consulted her nephew, who shared her concerns and immediately advised her to uninstall the app.
A few days later, Ms Lee received a WhatsApp message from a man claiming that he had accidentally transferred S$128, meant for his girlfriend, to her account.
Despite her reluctance to get involved, the man insisted that the money was urgently needed for his girlfriend’s life-saving situation, explaining that he mistakenly sent it to her account due to similar phone numbers.
Though Ms. Lee had online banking and PayNow accounts, she was not fond of using online services, and therefore requested her nephew to transfer the money to the man as requested.
On the same day, she noticed a reminder on her Android phone for an app called “Compass For Android,” which she did not remember downloading. She sought assistance to uninstall it promptly.
Two days later, her nephew discovered two unfamiliar apps on her phone and promptly removed them.
Shortly after, Ms. Lee discovered eight unauthorized transfers from her bank account, totaling S$199,996.
She acted swiftly, contacting her bank to freeze the account, and reported the incident to the police.