Mother of all scams thread

[Ct3833]

True to my belief, they want the credit card info. 

....Victims lose $237,000 amid resurgence in SingPost and Singtel phishing scams: Police

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/victims-lose-237000-amid-resurgence-in-singpost-and-singtel-phishing-scams-police

[Ghgan]

On 11/2/2022 at 1:08 PM, inlinesix said:

Ninja Van merely acts as an intermediary.

Paypal better consumer protection.

[Windwaver]

 

[Windwaver]

 

[Windwaver]

Sentencing hearing for Sunny Balwani scheduled for Dec 7.

[Windwaver]

[Blueray]

S’pore Woman Loses S$4,300 After Paying S$5 Deposit To Hire Cleaners, Reports Scam To Police

Quote

“We negotiated a cleaning service of S$25 for four hours and made an appointment,” Ms Lu said. “The other party sent a link asking me to download a mobile app and pay a deposit of S$5 online after registration.”

https://mustsharenews.com/woman-scam-cleaners/

[Windwaver]

https://stomp.straitstimes.com/singapore-seen/woman-tricked-friends-into-paying-over-196k-for-luxury-goods-that-were-never

Woman tricked friends into paying over $196k for luxury goods that were never delivered

A woman cheated 13 people of more than $196,000 by taking orders for discounted luxury goods she did not plan to deliver.

Siti Norashikin Azmi, who previously worked as a sales associate for Gucci, came up with the scam in December 2019 when an ex-colleague sent her a list of the brand’s past season items that were being sold at a discounted price.

She sent the list to her friends, took orders and accepted payment for the items she knew she was not going to deliver.

The 34-year-old later created her own list of purported discounted goods for other luxury brands.

In total, she cheated her victims of $196,705 between 2019 and 2021. None of the items were ever delivered.

Siti was sentenced to 33 months’ jail on Thursday after she pleaded guilty to five counts of cheating. Eight similar charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

She has made restitution of over $16,000 to four victims.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Heng said Siti had worked for Gucci, which was located in the Duty Free Shop (DFS) in Changi Airport, between August 2018 and June 2019. She later worked as an administrative assistant in DFS Changi Airport.

In December 2019, her ex-colleague at Gucci sent her a list of items from previous seasons, which were being sold at a discounted price.

Siti sent the list to her friends and family, took orders from them and sought payment upfront for the luxury goods.

She later created her own lists, with purported items from other luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Hermes. She told her friends that each item was being offered at a 70 per cent discount.

To convince them that she had placed the orders on their behalf, she sent them receipts. These receipts were issued for purchases made by staff members at DFS Changi Airport.

Siti, who had access to the receipts as she was then working as an administrative assistant for DFS Changi Airport, sent her victims copies of receipts that matched their orders.

When DFS Changi Airport discovered this, they terminated her employment in July or August 2020, according to court documents.

But Siti continued her ruse. In September 2020, she contacted 32-year-old Muhammad Imran Sumarli, who she had met via a dating app, and told him that she was working as a retail associate with DFS at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

She deceived him into believing that she was selling luxury goods at a discounted price, and the victim ordered multiple Gucci bags and wallets and a Chanel bag.

He then transferred $8,790 to her bank account. That same month, Siti also deceived Imran’s cousin, Muhammad Farhan Johan.

To convince him, she sent the 36-year-old a photo of her airport staff pass as proof that she was working in DFS Changi Airport.

Farhan told family members and friends that she was selling discounted luxury items and collected orders on their behalf.

He then placed an order for items from Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Dior and transferred $116,344 to Siti’s bank account.

DPP Heng said Siti was blinded by the money she earned through the scam, and had used some to repay outstanding credit card bills. 

Seeking 33 to 37 months’ jail, DPP Heng said her deliberate deception and premeditation is an aggravating factor and noted that the offences were committed over a considerably long period, between December 2019 and January 2021.

Siti, who was unrepresented, tendered a mitigation letter to District Judge Ronald Gwee. When the judge asked if there was anything else she would like to add, she said: “I want to apologise for everything that I did.”

She also requested for her sentence to be deferred to Jan 16, 2023, after her son begins school.

For cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

[Windwaver]

https://mothership.sg/2022/12/scammer-carousell-savings/

S'pore man loses savings for meant for 'special needs daughter' to Carousell scammer

The buyer asked to pay via Carousell Protection.

It definitely pays to be a bit more vigilant and cautious with who you are dealing with when shopping online.

This was the takeaway for Facebook user Wak Yan, whose Dec. 24 post about his experience falling victim to a scam on Carousell has been making the rounds on the social media platform.

Payment by Carousell Protection for S$15 item

Wak Yan shared in the post that his wife and him are "frugal" and use Carousell frequently to get good deals or to sell items to bring in some cash.

They are parents to five children, one of whom has "special needs", Wak Yan revealed.

Going about their routine, Wak Yan's wife listed an unused money box for sale on the platform at S$15 on Friday (Dec. 23).

Later that day at around 6:19pm, an interested buyer going by username @justniezam, approached Wak Yan's wife on the platform to ask about the item.

According to screenshots of the chat shared by Wak Yan, the buyer appeared to be from Central Jakarta.

"So, as usual, she engaged in the conversation in hopes to close the deal ASAP. (... well it's just $15.. why waste time right?)", Wak Yan said.

Eventually, the buyer requested to make payment via Carousell Protection.

Carousell Protection is a payment option offered by Carousell that allows buyers to release payment to sellers only after the item has been received.

Those who opt for this method of payment do so for big-ticket items.

According to Wak Yan, his wife found this odd as they usually received payment through PayNow or on a cash-on-delivery basis.

On top of that, the item was only S$15.

However, his wife dismissed the oddity, thinking that perhaps it was just a buyer being cautious after previous experiences of getting scammed.

The pair also dealt in good faith, having had positive experiences on the platform so far.

Well, you know, our experiences with past buyers & sellers had been really good and hassle-free. We have been dealing with honest and reasonable people. Super easy to deal with kind. Everyone was very "sikit-lebih-kurang" ("very reasonable" in Malay). We were complacent this time. We assumed that it'll all be the same.

The scam

After agreeing to proceed with Carousell Protection, the buyer eventually asked for the seller's email, sharing a screenshot of what seemed to be the Carousell Protection website.

The scammer then told Wak Yan's wife that he had made payment. All they had to do was click on the link in an email to finish the transaction.

Later, Wak Yan found that the email ended up in the junk folder.

Then, he made the "grave mistake" of not validating the email and immediately clicking on the link.

"A page appears. It says, something like, 'to receive your payment, login to your bank account'. And so I clicked it without thinking", Wak Yan admitted.

Wak Yan said he did not screenshot the page to show what it looked like, but said it resembled the DBS iBanking portal.

He proceeded to log in and was brought to a loading page.

Wak Yan's suspicions were raised at this point, as it was 7pm on a Friday evening.

"Are bankers still working at this hour?" he thought to himself.

However, as the family was preparing for evening prayers, they "didn't think too much of it".

Throughout the process, the scammer hurried Wak Yan's wife over Carousell chat, repeatedly asking if they had received the email and suggesting they check with the bank why the transaction was not loading.

Wak Yan shared that a prompt eventually told him to change bank accounts.

He then entered the login details of his wife's bank account and punched in the one-time pin.

"I got irritated with the "latency" and so I told my wife to just put the phone down and to just start praying." Wak Yan recounted.

Money remitted to Thailand

It was only after finishing prayers that the couple realised that the bank transaction had gone awry.

Wak Yan's wife was the first to find out after checking on the Carousell transaction.

My wife said to me in a shaky voice... "Abanggg... kita dah tak ada duit!! DUIT HUSNA SEMUA HILANGGG!!!"(Dear... we don't have any more money! Husna's savings are gone!!!)

Checking against an email from POSB and in the bank's app, they discovered that the savings was remitted in Thai Baht to a person in Thailand.

The pair then called DBS, whose officer confirmed that they had possibly fallen victim to a scam and helped freeze their accounts.

On Carousell, Wak Yan's wife confronted the scammer over the chat, who feigned ignorance before giving a cryptic reply.

Wak Yan added that eventually, the scammer's account was suspended and a police report was lodged

Hard-earned money for daughter's needs

Reflecting on the experience, Wak Yan blamed himself for being careless.

We know that the chances of getting our money back is really slim. We're not counting on it, in fact. But all those funds... crucial, essential funds... for our special little girl... gone. Just like that. Due to my carelessness. None to blame, but my own. Lesson learnt. (... painfully.)

On the post, Wak Yan uploaded photos of his daughter receiving treatment at a hospital, sharing that "wires and tubes are a norm for her".

He also pointed out the irony of what happened, given that Carousell Protection was supposed to "mitigate these risks".

He wrote that he will "hustle harder in 2023", and was sharing the post to create awareness of such scams.

Carousell advisory on scams

According to an advisory by Carousell, all of the platform's website ends with "carousell.com".

Other than on our own website (http://carousell.com/) or links found in our Help Centre, we will never direct you to websites to key in the following details:

• Email address
• Password
• Credit or debit card number
• Mobile number

[Ody_2004]

Example of scammer.. i reported n got suspended.. 

[Rayleigh]

Recently, Carousel seems to be the weakest platform in protecting their users against scam. 

[Ody_2004]

18 minutes ago, Rayleigh said:

Recently, Carousel seems to be the weakest platform in protecting their users against scam. 

i guess user need to play their part too.. not many will report.. the most they just delete the message..

the item i selling just $15 and the scammer wanna use Carousell protection.. knn..

i believe these scammer could be BOTS.. and they multiply fast..

[Rayleigh]

1 hour ago, Ody_2004 said:

i guess user need to play their part too.. not many will report.. the most they just delete the message..

the item i selling just $15 and the scammer wanna use Carousell protection.. knn..

i believe these scammer could be BOTS.. and they multiply fast..

My daughters friend also encountered similar scam tactics. Her saving of more than $1K earned from tuition was wiped clean clean. It looks so legit and it is also true that carousel has a legit payment platform. Hence the confusion. 

[Fcw75]

3 hours ago, Ody_2004 said:

Example of scammer.. i reported n got suspended.. 

Wah lau bro, I had to reread what you typed.

I thought you said ‘I reported a scammer and I got suspended’ 😅

[Kb27]

To discourage scammers, I suggest the law be changed to death penalty.

Treat them like drug couriers, drug addicts, HANG them. This will send a message, who dares next ?

[Windwaver]

 

[Windwaver]

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/john-soh-and-quah-su-ling-masterminds-behind-s8-billion-penny-stock-crash-get-36-and-20-years-jail-each-2080951

John Soh and Quah Su-Ling, masterminds behind S$8 billion penny-stock crash, get 36 and 20 years' jail each

SINGAPORE — The mastermind behind the S$8 billion penny-stock crash in late 2013, John Soh Chee Wen, was sentenced by the High Court on Wednesday (Dec 28) to 36 years in prison, while his co-conspirator, Quah Su-Ling, was sentenced to 20 years’ jail.

Soh, 62, and Quah, 57, were convicted in May this year on more than a hundred offences each, following a trial lasting close to 200 days.

Soh, a Malaysian, was convicted of 180 charges while Quah was convicted of 169 charges, in what authorities described earlier this year as “the largest market manipulation case in Singapore’s history”.

These offences include 10 counts of false trading and price manipulation, over 150 counts of deception and six counts of cheating, relating to the scheme executed from August 2012 to October 2013, to manipulate the shares of Blumont Group, Asiasons Capital and LionGold Corp.

Soh, who was also convicted of additional offences under the Companies Act and for witness tampering, has been in remand since November 2016 while Quah has been out on bail of S$4 million.

Both the accused stated on Wednesday that they would be appealing against their conviction and their sentences. Soh, however, will not be appealing against the charges under the Companies Act.

Soh's prison sentence took effect from the date of his remand. 

The duo controlled and used 187 trading accounts held in the names of 58 different account holders, with 20 financial institutions, to make thousands of manipulative trades of stocks of the same company.

“In particular, the trades between the controlled accounts were conducted to generate artificial liquidity and demand for these shares, to cause the share prices to rise over time, and to retain control of large amounts of shares without disclosing this to the market,” the police and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in May following their conviction.

As a result of their manipulation, the stocks of these companies surged multiple times in the months before they slumped.

In delivering her decision on Wednesday to a full courtroom, Justice Hoo Sheau Peng said it was necessary and of utmost importance that the aggregate sentence captured the "gravity of their wrongdoing".

Justice Hoo noted the substantial scale, complexity and sophistication of the scheme which the accused carried out for financial gain.

“They personally minded and tended to the intricate scheme they devised on an almost daily basis for a prolonged period of 14 months, taking steps to evade detection by the authorities,” she said.

She added that even after the market crashed and the scheme failed, Soh continued to subvert justice and concealed their wrongdoings, which were uncovered after “intensive” investigations.

A third co-accused related to the case, Goh Hin Calm, was convicted in March 2019 and pleaded guilty to two charges under the Securities and Futures Act for intentionally aiding Soh and Quah to manipulate the market. 

He was sentenced to three years’ jail.

[Wt_know]

i wonder how many years this guy will get ....  

Edited December 28, 2022 by Wt_know