Delivery couriers cheated of at least $2,000 in job scam
Several delivery couriers in Singapore have been cheated of at least $2,000 in total since April in a job scam targeting those in the trade.
The police issued an advisory on Tuesday (May 10) warning the public of the ruse.
In these cases, the scammers would target couriers from various delivery platforms in two distinct ways.
In the first type of scam, the scammer would submit a delivery request through the delivery platform.
After the courier has been selected, the scammer would ask the courier to buy iTunes gift cards from a convenience store at the pick-up location.
The scammer would then ask the courier to deliver the gift cards to the drop-off location, where the courier will be reimbursed.
Before the delivery is completed, the scammer will ask the courier to scratch and reveal the code behind the card and send a photo of the code as a proof of purchase.
After the courier complies, the scammer would become uncontactable and would not reimburse the courier's payment for the gift cards.
In the second type, the scammer would indicate a remittance agency as the location for the courier to organise a pick up.
The scammer would then contact the assigned courier and request that he transfer a certain amount of money to an overseas account while promising an attractive tip of at least $100 per remittance.
The courier is told payment will be made at the delivery location.
But they realise that they have been cheated when the scammer became uncontactable and nobody is at the delivery location.
The police reminded the public not to accept dubious job offers that offer lucrative returns for minimal effort, adding: "If an offer is too good to be true, it probably is."
They should also not help anyone that they do not know personally with any monetary transfers, including remittance.
This includes buying gift cards and showing the codes to others without first receiving payment.
Police added: "You are responsible for all transactions you make."
Those with information related to such crimes should call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit a report online.
For scam-related advice, they may also call the anti-scam helpline on 1800-722-6688 or go to this website.
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