Police warn of job scam variant that has led to $19.9m in losses for 1,399 victims since May
The police on Thursday warned of a persistent job scam variant through which victims have lost at least $19.9 million since May.
At least 1,399 victims fell prey to such scams during this period, they added.
In these scams, victims were enticed by scammers offering fake job opportunities that involve purchasing tasks on online platforms.
The victims received the job offers through unsolicited WhatsApp or Telegram messages asking them to take part in simple surveys, or if they were interested in performing simple tasks such as boosting ratings of product listings for online merchants, the police said.
The victims, enticed by the rewards offered for such tasks, created accounts on fraudulent websites to earn commissions. After they successfully receive their initial payment and commission, they would be asked to pay to be given more tasks.
One such task is telling victims to give a good rating for online product listings to boost their reviews, then submit screenshots of the review to the scammer via online messaging platforms.
Another task had victims placing orders online for certain items, then showing proof by sending screenshots of the orders to the scammers. The victims were told not to pay for the orders using the website’s payment modes. Instead, they were told to make payments to bank accounts provided by the scammers via online messaging platforms.
Some victims were directed to move cryptocurrency market by signing into crypto accounts to buy the currencies.
Victims realised they had been scammed only when they could not recover their high-value payments for the currencies.
Those in doubt, or have information relating to such crimes, can call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. Those requiring urgent police assistance can dial 999.
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