Victims lose over $209k in re-emergence of job scam involving purchasing of movie tickets

A job scam where victims would be invited to participate in jobs that would allow them to earn commission through purchasing movie tickets to boost the films has re-emerged, said the police.

The police have received 17 reports involving losses of at least $209,000 since Apr 1.

In these cases, the scammers would pretend to be online marketing businesses and would ask the victims to access websites where they would begin their tasks by topping up accounts and purchasing movie tickets to earn commissions.

The scammers would provide victims with bank accounts belonging to unknown individuals for the payment to be made.

Most of the time, the victims would be convinced that their work was legitimate as their accounts would reflect the commissions they received after completing the tasks.

Subsequently, the victims would be asked to make more payments for 'deluxe' or 'premium' tickets.

However, the victims would eventually discover they had been scammed when they were unable to withdraw the money from their accounts.

The police advise members of the public to adopt the precautionary measures:

1. Do not accept dubious job offers that offer lucrative returns for minimal effort;

2. Never download applications from unverified sources; and

3. Never send money to anyone whom you do not know or have not met in person.

If you have information related to such crimes or if you are in doubt, call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. Dial ‘999’ if you require urgent Police assistance.

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