3 Person Arrested for $9,800 Counterfeit Luxury Bag Scam On Carousell
A woman and two teenagers, aged 16 to 21 were arrested after the Singapore Police Force (SPF) received multiple reports between January and June 2020 from victims who were reported being cheated online after making a purchase for authentic luxury bags at a discounted price on the e-commerce platform Carousell.
Some of the victims later also discovered the bags were counterfeit and a few of them didn’t even receive the bag after making payment. After a thorough investigation, the Bedok Police Division manages to identify the 3 suspects and arresting them on Aug 11 and 12.
Preliminary investigations revealed that they are believed to be involved in at least seven cases of such scams amounting to S$9,800. Investigations are ongoing. The offense of cheating, punishable under Section 420 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and a fine.
The police would like to advise members of the public 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 advance 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, but the owner of the account may not be the person communicating with you online.