Mastermind of YouTrip fraud cases jailed

He failed to report for his national service (NS) enlistment and instead committed scores of different offences, including orchestrating multiple instances of fraud by exploiting a security flaw in the YouTrip payment service.

As a result of the fraud, Jerron Lim Ee Zheng caused the service’s company You Technologies (Singapore) to suffer losses totalling more than $122,000.

Lim, now 29, masterminded the YouTrip fraud from 2018, with at least six syndicate members involved.

After You Technologies made a police report in February 2019, he was arrested then released on bail the same month.

While out on bail, the Singaporean returned to a life of crime and committed other offences, including driving cars on multiple occasions without a licence.

On Sept 27, Lim was sentenced to three years and 16 weeks’ jail, and ordered to pay a fine of $10,000.

He was also disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for five years from his release date.

He had pleaded guilty to 25 charges for multiple offences including traffic-related ones, misusing computer systems, and failing to report for enlistment into full-time NS. Another 99 charges were considered during sentencing.

Deputy public prosecutors Tan Zhi Hao and Ariel Tan stated in court documents that the YouTrip payment service involved a multi-currency e-wallet which can be accessed via a mobile application, combined with a contactless prepaid Mastercard, known as the “YouTrip card”.

To register for a YouTrip account, a user has to submit his or her personal information via the YouTrip app.

The YouTrip card can be used at retail outlets. Each YouTrip account also has an option for stored value and the card can be used to withdraw cash linked to it at automated teller machines (ATMs).

In 2018, Lim realised that there was a security flaw in the YouTrip payment service.

At the time, bank cards could be registered and used for fund top-ups on the YouTrip app without the need for one-time passwords (OTPs).

Lim then planned to use stolen credit or debit card information to perform unauthorised top-ups to YouTrip accounts.

He asked three of his accomplices to open YouTrip accounts, and then hand over control of the accounts to him.

Two of the accomplices persuaded 16 others to open YouTrip accounts. Lim offered commissions of up to $1,000 for each YouTrip account obtained.

An accomplice recruited two people to steal credit and debit card information from customers at their workplaces.

Using the stolen card details, Lim performed unauthorised top-ups, to a maximum sum of $3,000 per YouTrip account.

The DPPs told the court: “The scheme members would then withdraw the stored value in the YouTrip accounts in cash using the YouTrip cards at ATMs in Malaysia.

“Lim would request his runners to withdraw the cash on his behalf, while he waited in the vicinity of the ATMs. The cash withdrawn would then be split amongst the scheme members.”

The successful top-ups performed by the scheme amounted to over $128,000, of which the police successfully recovered more than $6,000 during investigations. 

On Feb 1, 2019, a representative from You Technologies lodged a police report, stating that it had received a large number of transaction disputes linked to at least 18 user accounts involving 76 credit and debit cards.

Lim was arrested soon after and was later released on bail on Feb 20 that year.

But between April 2019 and March 2020, he repeatedly drove cars without a licence.

Lim became uncontactable to the authorities in September 2021 and an arrest warrant was issued against him in April 2022.

He was driving a car in Bukit Batok two months later when he got into an accident with a motorcycle. The rider suffered fractures to his collarbone, neck, toes and ankle.

Police re-arrested Lim on Sept 28, 2022, and he finally enlisted for full-time NS two days later.