20-year-old seller who went MIA after getting payment for ZoukOut and concert tickets arrested

A 20-year-old was arrested last Friday (Dec 21) for his suspected involvement in a series of e-commerce scams.

The police said that they received multiple reports between November and December 2018 from victims who were purportedly cheated by an online seller who listed ZoukOut tickets and concert tickets for sale on Carousell.

After the victims made payments via bank transfers, the seller became uncontactable.

Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department subsequently established the man's identity and arrested him.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man is believed to be involved in more than 10 cases of e-commerce scams.

He was charged in court on Saturday (Dec 22) with cheating, which is punishable with a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.

Members of the public are advised to take the following precautions when shopping online:

• Bear in mind that the party you are dealing with online is a stranger. Before performing a transaction on an online shopping site, find out how the site safeguards your interest or can help you resolve disputes;

• Insist on cash on delivery especially if responding to online classified advertisements;

• If advanced payments are required, use shopping platforms that provide arrangements to only release your payment to the seller upon your receipt of the item;

• Be mindful that although sellers may provide a copy of an identification card or driver’s licence to gain your trust, it may not necessarily belong to the person communicating with you online; and

• Note that scammers may use a local bank account to enhance credibility; however the owner of the account may not be the person communicating with you online.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam hotline at 1800-722-6688

Anyone with information on such scams may call the police hotline at 1800-255 0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.