SINGAPORE: The Singapore Police Power (SPF) has issued a contemporary advisory urging the general public to be vigilant towards on-line scams involving pre-order listings for Ok-pop merchandise, after fraudsters exploited fan enthusiasm with pretend offers on platforms equivalent to Carousell.
Based on the advisory on Jan 17, victims would encounter listings for merchandise tied to Korean stars equivalent to G-Dragon and, after expressing curiosity, be coaxed to pay deposits by way of PayNow or financial institution transfers to safe the objects. Victims usually solely realise they’ve been defrauded when the merchandise by no means arrive, or the vendor turns into uncontactable.
The police aren’t conscious of any particular reported losses related to this specific rip-off variant thus far, however the sample is in line with different e-commerce fraud traits seen in Singapore, the place rip-off listings lure consumers with the promise of availability or reductions after which fade after fee.
Of their advisory, officers reminded customers to buy solely from authorised sellers, whether or not on-line or at bodily shops. For on-line buying, they inspired using safe fee strategies, equivalent to money on supply, which permits consumers to examine items earlier than committing funds.
The police additionally warned the general public to be alert to traditional rip-off pink flags, together with “giant reductions provided for sooner transactions”, and to keep away from disclosing delicate private or banking data, equivalent to web banking credentials or one-time passwords, to any third social gathering.
This warning comes amid broader efforts over the previous few years to fight e-commerce fraud. The police warning that scammers are more likely to proceed concentrating on followers shortly and creatively.
To guard themselves towards scams, members of the general public are inspired to undertake the ACT (Add, Examine, Inform) framework. This contains putting in the ScamShield app and enabling out there security measures to dam and filter suspicious messages and calls.
Those that are uncertain or require recommendation can contact the ScamShield helpline at 1799.
