SINGAPORE — With an increase in the number of reported online transaction scams from last year, the police have urged the public to take precautions when shopping online.

This could mean not giving out bank account numbers, credit card details and personal information, checking sellers’ track record and finding out more information by contacting the sellers, they said.

In January and February, there were 77 reported cases of such scams — double the figure for the same period last year.

Last September, the police also warned of a rising number of online scams, in which victims did not get the goods they bought and were also cheated into making additional payments.

There were 53 cases of such “mixed delivery order” scams reported last July and August, with the total amount cheated at more than S$40,000.

Twenty-six such cases were reported for the whole of 2012.

A victim of online transaction scams is Ms Tan, who did not want to reveal her full name.

While shopping for a tablet last November, she was drawn to a particular seller who offered her low prices and transferred S$200 as a deposit to a bank account he specified.

However, later, the seller told Ms Tan that she needed to order at least three tablets. She declined to proceed with the transaction, but he refused to return the deposit.

As Ms Tan had a copy of an identity card provided by the seller, she went to the residence stated on the card.

However, the person who answered the door said he was not the seller, adding that his identity card could have been stolen.

After Ms Tan made a police report, investigations showed that the mastermind of the scam was a person from Nigeria and the bank account that Ms Tan had transferred funds to belonged to another victim.

“I was very angry with myself because I have been shopping online for quite a while since a few years back, so I took security for granted. My sister had even shared with me her experience, but I still fell for it,” she said.

The police also urged the public not to help those they have met online to make fund transfers, as they might be aiding and abetting a criminal in receiving the proceeds from a crime. Khoo Fang Xuan