Man arrested for role in bogus Grab and Uber promo deals: Victims lost at least $7,700

Lee Min Kok
The Straits Times
Tuesday, Mar 28, 2017

A 47-year-old man was arrested last week for his suspected involvement in a series of bogus private-hire car promotional deals last month.

In a news release on Tuesday (March 28), police said officers from Bedok division arrested the man last Friday after conducting their investigations.

At least nine reports were made by victims of the scam between Feb 22 and Feb 23, with the money lost amounting to at least $7,700.

The victims were introduced to cheap "Grab/Uber promotional packages" through friends who had come across the advertisements by word of mouth.

After being asked to contact the seller via online messaging app WhatsApp, they were instructed to transfer money to bank accounts to purchase the packages.

However, they were unable to redeem the rides after making payments and the seller became uncontactable.

In its advisory issued last month after the scam was brought to light, the police advised the public to purchase rides only from official sources and to be careful when purchasing items at prices that sound too good to be true.

When in doubt, consumers can call the anti-scam helpline on 1800-722 6688 or go to  https://www.scamalert.sg.

The Straits Times

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