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New scam: Borrowing phones to buy game credits
Police raise alert after nabbing six teens on Tuesday
Published on Apr 11, 2012
By Lim Yan Liang
The police have raised a red flag over a recent scam that involves teenagers borrowing strangers' mobile phones to purchase game credits.
This is how the scam works: The culprit, usually someone young, approaches a stranger and claims that his phone is faulty or cannot be used.
He asks to borrow the stranger's mobile phone to contact his friends. He may even offer something in exchange as a sign of good faith.
BACKGROUND STORY
URGE TO SPEND MONEY
'The need to spend more money could stem from the desire to attain a high-level prestigious position in the game that is otherwise not possible due to real-life commitments or time issues.'
Mrs Anita Low-Lim, director of Touch Youth, a voluntary welfare group that deals with cyber wellness
After the target agrees, the culprit uses the phone to send an SMS to a telco-dependent game 'top-up' phone number.
In four short messages, he gains a one-use PIN number, which he then uses to redeem game credits online.
