Increase in scams involving mixed delivery orders

[chinasuckz]

Updated: 11/20/2013 20:27 | By Channel NewsAsia

Increase in scams involving mixed delivery orders

SINGAPORE: There have been at least 173 cases of scams involving mixed delivery orders reported between July and October this year.

Police said they have noticed an increase in such scams where victims not only fail to receive goods purchased online but are cheated into making further payments before they realise it is a scam.

The victims were cheated of a total of over S$140,000.

Police said the culprits would post online advertisements on the sale of smartphones, tablet PCs, laptops and bicycles on popular websites and Facebook at below market prices to entice victims.

The victims would then be asked to make payments through interbank transfers to local bank accounts or remit payment via remittance agencies to overseas accounts.

To cheat the victims into making further payments, they would receive emails or 'whatsapp' messages notifying them that there were problems with their orders.

The victims would be told that their items were held or wrongly delivered to another country, or that the items were seized at Customs.

To avoid detection, the culprits recruited "money mules", who were holders of local bank accounts, to transfer the proceeds of the crime from the mules' bank accounts to the culprits' accounts.

The culprits usually contact potential mules through social network sites and claim that they offer business opportunities or seek romantic relationships.

Police have advised the public to be wary of such scams. - CNA/ms