The warnings to stay sharp against cybercheating appear to have fallen on deaf ears for some, as men have been cheated of more than S$1.25 million in sex scams in the first five months of the year.
After receiving at least 500 reports on “credits for sex” scams, the police have arrested a 22-year-old connected to such scams. The suspect will be charged in court with cheating-related offences today.
The scams involved women befriending male victims through social media platforms such as WeChat, and offering dates or sexual services in exchange for online shopping credits, said the police in a media release yesterday.
The scammers would typically ask the victims to purchase cards from AXS machines, and send images of the receipts together with the personal identification numbers (PINs) for the cards to designated email accounts for them to claim the credits. In some cases, other members of the syndicates would contact the victims and ask them to make more purchases.
Earlier this month, a variation of the scam emerged: Victims were asked to hand over their ATM cards and their PINs before they could meet the women. They were instructed to leave their ATM cards at public locations, and told that their cards would be returned to them after they met the women.
The cards were then collected by unknown persons and the monies in the accounts linked to the cards were pilfered. On some occasions, these accounts were used to receive funds from other victims of crime.
As more cases were reported, the police issued warnings. Choa Chu Kang Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) sent an SMS alert earlier this month to residents urging vigilance against such scams. Between January and April, 373 victims fell for the scam and the sum cheated totalled S$812,000, with one of the victims made S$43,137 poorer, they said.
Cybercheating cases have been an area of concern in recent years, with a three-fold jump in the number of such cases between 2009 and last year. E-commerce cheating or extortion on cyberspace crimes continued to rise from 510 cases in 2013 to 1,659 cases last year.
Most of the cases were shoppers who were duped into making multiple payments for purported online bargains. Crooks would put up advertisements for products at low prices but ask for payments repeatedly on the pretext that the goods would be delivered eventually. Internet scams also emerged in the form of fake gift cards or virtual credits being peddled online.
Responding to TODAY’s queries about the scams flagged by the Choa Chu Kang NPC, a police spokesperson said preliminary investigations show that the latest credits-for-sex scam appeared to originate from overseas, and the police are working with its foreign counterparts to trace the perpetrators.
Members of the public are advised to be wary of strangers they befriend online, as well as avoid providing personal details about themselves when engaging other Internet users. They are also advised not to share their payment receipts containing details such as PINs with anyone.
Source: www.todayonline.com
