1,013 victims fall for online job scams promising commission, with S$17.6m lost since January

SINGAPORE — At least 1,013 people have fallen for a job scam since January that entices them by giving them a small commission for doing a survey, with losses amounting to at least S$17.6 million.

The police said in a news release on Wednesday (March 29) that the scams typically happened this way:

• Victims would receive a message on WhatsApp or Telegram to take part in a survey or market research
• This would usually be made to look like it was for food delivery sites such as Deliveroo and Foodpanda, tourism or events
• After they complete the survey, victims would then receive a small commission or sum of money, making them believe that the activity was legitimate
• Once that was done, victims would get another WhatsApp or Telegram contact telling them there were “more rewarding jobs”
• This second contact would then ask the victims to perform tasks such as “boosting” the value of cryptocurrencies or “rating” mobile applications to improve their rankings on app stores
• To do these tasks, the victims had to create an account on scam websites and transfer money to bank accounts provided by the scammers
• In some cases, the victims would be told to put in even more of their own money for a variety of reasons

In the end, the victims would realise that they had been deceived when they could not withdraw their commission or when the scammers could no longer be contacted.

DOWNLOAD SCAMSHIELD APP

The police are advising the public to adopt various precautionary measures, such as downloading their ScamShield app and ensuring that users turn on the security features.

The app checks incoming calls against a list maintained by the police to see if the number has been used for illegal purposes, and blocks the number.

People are also reminded not to send money to an unknown person, or someone they have not met in person, and not to accept dubious job offers that promise fast and easy money in return for minimal work.

Everyone is encouraged to tell the authorities, their family and friends about scams and report cases to the relevant messaging app that scammers use, such as WhatsApp and Telegram.

Anyone with information about scams may contact the police at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online to www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.

For more information on scams, members of the public may visit www.scamalert.sg or call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688.