Beware of Online Selling Scam from Foreign Countries

Recently, there is a growing number of advertisements from suspicious users posted in our local forums for sales of photography gears. The prices that they have offered are quite amazing and the items are new (the forums' sections are actually meant to be for sales of refurnished items). Their member accounts are also new.

When we tried to clarify with one of them, the person told us we had to make payment online while the actual item is located in foreign country.

As a matter of fact, parallel import goods may be cheaper than local ones, partly because of non-local warranty or lower tax; however, if the item cost less than 50% of local price, you should really beware of the catch.

As our local police force may not be able to deal with criminals in every foreign country, we advise everyone not to try luck in all the cheap offers. If it happens that you send the payment via online transfer and the seller does not mail the item over as promised, it may be beyond anyone's help.

Will you purchase electronic items via online from Kazakhstan or Pakistan?

If you have purchased items from such sellers and realised you have been conned, do post your encounter in the comment section below. Meanwhile do spread about this and encourage your friends many things are too good to be real.

Travel Agent Scam

From reader JC:

Hi Guys,
anyone know this freelance travel agent - Ms Kee Kim Noi? (aka Bambi Kee)

Ms Kee Kim Noi, who is a freelance travel agent, claimed that she has linkages with certain airlines and agents, helped several people to book air tickets or packages.

After she made the booking for us with Farmosa travel, she went missing with our money. As Farmosa travel did not receive any payment from her, the booking was cancelled. Ms Kee, apparently went missing with those money. Therefore, would like to see your help if anyone has come across this person or know anyone who has.

She will usually sell you air tickets or packages and asked you to transfer money to her bank account. After which, she will delay issuing the tickets or the tour packages until you give up and wanted to take back the money. Then, she will claimed that the money is delayed with her "agent" and the refund will keep dragging until you do not get a single cent from her.

Would like to connect with anyone who knows her or anyone who has friends who knows her so that we can go to the police together.

Singapore PA Job Scam

Many "rich" people have been trying to find "personal assistants" online. These simple and high paying jobs do attract many young girls. However, how many of them are real? It seems like some of these advertisements are more of attempting to hook girls into dirty jobs.


Taken from Facebook from Bella

HI GIRLS ATTENTION. BEWARE OF THIS GUY CALLED IVAN TAY.
So I'm currently looking for a part time job, and I saw his post on a fb page for singapore part time jobs that he's looking for a PA (personal assistant).
The pay seemed good, I was interested so I texted him.

As you can see in the first screenshot, he seemed pretty polite. nothing wrong there. And he also provided such 'detailed explanations' about what this 'JOB' was going to be like (pui). He said that I would just be helping him take down notes, calculating stuff, run errands etcetc.he EVEN stated in his post that the girl needed to be fluent in the english language. (lol nice try there). So I believed him.

But after that he went on to say that he'll be treating me to my meals, bringing me out to movies with him, drinking with him, clubbing with him and blah. And that he'd even fetch me from my house and back home wheneer i'm 'working'. That's when I started to find it kind of...weird? Like what kind of job is this LOL got so relax one meh..?

Tonight when I texted him about when I could start work, things just got so fucking weird. He even asked if I could start, tonight. Like the very moment I texted him. Like wtf..? Then he went on and told me about his 'past experiences' with a different PA, that she got drunk and he ended up losing his phone and all his money and waking up with her naked beside him. LOL and that he fired her. Like k dude wtf are you trying to prove LOL that you'd reject a girl that comes for free? Give me a break I'm not stupid.

So he suddenly went all like 'aiya i better not hire you for midnight la scared you drunk then i cnt control myself' like wtf is with that? He then proceeded to ask me 'unless you're okay with mutual sex rs like that with me then i'm cool with it ' EW WTF??? EW EW EW????
AND BEST PART IS HERE. WHEN I TOLD HIM THAT I WASN'T INTERESTED ANYMORE, HE WENT ALL 'oh ok anw you're not gna be pa-ing for me, you're going to be doing it for a singaporean celebrity' LOL THEN WHAT'S WITH ALL THAT CRAP YOU JUST SAID ABOUT SEX WITH YOU?? GIVE ME A BREAK PLS HAHAHAHAA.

Guys like him should just be publicized in my pov, god know's how many other girls he's said such gross things to or maybe even managed to fuck before. So beware guys. Heres his fb : https://www.facebook.com/vandezvouz?fref=ts

Screenshots taken from Bella:

Spreading of False Information to Create Public Panic

Although social media has helped people from all over the world to share news instantly and counter false news from mainstream media of countries that are being controlled by their autocratic rulers, there are also attempts of users using it to create public panic.

Accordingly to Yahoo!SG Newsroom, someone has tried to spread rumours about food from Thailand.

We hope the culprit will be taken to court soon.

HOAX ALERT
The AVA has confirmed with the Thai embassy that the following message is untrue:

Emergency notification:
Try not to eat canned food especially those canned fruits manufactured from thailand . There were 200 over HIV carriers instructed by their leader to contaminate the products of the canned food factory by their blood.
The information was confirmed by the government this morning. In order not to let the people get infected after eating, many types of canned food had been removed from the shelves of the supermarkets.such as longan, lychee, rambutan and mango pudding.
Pls send to people you care. Prevention is better than cure! Pls don't buy canned food from thailand.

Please refrain from spreading it further.

Crime Prevention Advisory on Cyber Extortion

From Singapore Police Force facebook page:

Police have received several reports on cyber extortion recently.

These cases usually involve female suspects who attempt to extort money by threatening to post compromising photos or videos of victims, mostly males, following an online cyber-sex session over a web camera. The victims are coaxed into undressing and performing indecent acts in front of a webcam. The process is video recorded and the males are blackmailed thereafter. In most cases, the female suspects are believed to be based overseas.

The female suspects would usually get acquainted with the male victims via social networking websites like Tagged.com, Skype or Facebook. The public is advised to take the following preventive measures when interacting online:

i) Be wary of messages from unknown people who want to befriend you.

ii) Do not accede to any request that may put you in vulnerable positions, such as performing compromising acts in front of the webcam, or giving personal details about yourself when interacting with other internet users.

iii) If anyone attempts to extort money from you or should you become a victim of such an attempt, call the police immediately.

iv) Do not remit or transfer money.

For more information and advisory on cyber extortion, please view Crimewatch 2013 Episode 4 @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrapCuor4rQ

Photographer Has Camera Lens Stolen From Around His Neck

The video of the camera lens thieves in action was taken in Saint-Petersburg (Russia). The thieves would target passers-by while the police are unable to stop them.

The thieves work together. One of them will shove something in front of the camera's owner, hiding the camera and lens from his sight. Then, another team-mate will take the chance to remove and steal the lens.

Do take note that similar plot can be happening in other countries as well, and they may not necessary target only camera lenses.

Do not show off your valuable. When travelling, always try to go in pair.

Facebook Fake Profile - Kayla Ong

https://www.facebook.com/kayla.ong.9822

Yes, in case you are wondering why are you in such a good luck that a babe has requested you to add her as a friend in Facebook, you are just one of the many victims of hers. We are not sure what's the motive of this faker who has ripped photos of Stephanie Tan, a Singaporean.

Taken from: https://www.facebook.com/stsygoneinpieces/posts/10151664146013492

HI PEOPLE!!!!!! READ THIS & SPREAD AROUND.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THIS ACCOUNT AS IT'S A FAKE ACCOUNT. THIS PERSON TOOK MY PHOTOS AND ACT AS IF IT'S HERS. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S HIS/HER MOTIVE BY DOING SO, BUT SOMEHOW I JUST FIND IT RATHER HILARIOUS. WHY DO I FELT THIS WAY ? IT'S BECAUSE THAT PERSON CHOSE TO BE A "PHOTOCOPIER" INSTEAD OF A "NORMAL PERSON". FIND IT RATHER ENTERTAINING THOUGH. PLEASE HELP TO SHARE THIS AND SPREAD AROUND ALRIGHT. THANKS PEOPLE

TO THE POSER: HI, KAYLA ONG?!?!? WELL, FYI MY NAME IS STEPHANIE TAN. MY FATHER'S SURNAME IS TAN AND NOT ONG. WANT TO POSE AS ME ALSO DON'T KNOW HOW TO POSE. EPIC !!!!! REALLY HAVE NO COMMON SENSE. COPY CAN ALSO COPY WRONGLY. PATHETIC YOU WANT MY PHOTO, I CAN SEND IT TO YOU FOR FREE. DON'T HAVE TO DO SUCH DIRTY TRICKS.

Email Scam

As irritating as it can be, such nonsensical scam email still exists.

If anyone has encountered and replied to such email, please share with us the progress of the scam!

My name is Mr. Ling Tia Liu; I work with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Hong Kong. I have a business proposal in the tune of $21,300,000.00 US Dollars, to be transferred out of my bank with your assistance.

After the successful transfer, we shall share in ratio of 50% for you and 50% for me. Should you be interested, please respond to my letter immediately, so we can commence all arrangements and I will give you more information on the project and how we would handle it. Please treat this business with utmost confidentiality.

You can contact me on my private email :(mrtailing@yahoo.com.hk) along with the Following information's for documentation purpose:

(1) Full names:
(2) Direct phone number:
(3) Current residential address:
(4) Occupation:

Crime Advisory - "Police Bail" Phone Scam

From Singapore Police Force Fan Page:

The Police would like to remind the public to be vigilant against scams as criminals are coming up with more innovative ways to cheat unsuspecting victims. Police have received reports on the “police bail” phone scam recently.

In this scam, the victims received calls purportedly from China, with the “+86”country code. The caller would claim to be the victim’s friend and allege that he had been arrested by police while in China. The scammer would then ask the victim to transfer a sum of money to pay the bail or fines for his release. Victims who acceded to the scammer’s request would eventually discover that it was a scam after establishing contact with their friends. Thus far, victims have transferred sums ranging from $800 to $16,000 to a bank account in China.

Police would like to remind members of public to be vigilant against such scams, and to adopt the following crime prevention measures:

- Inform the Police immediately if anyone attempts to extort or ask money from you;

- Be wary of messages or calls from unknown people who want to befriend you;

- Do not remit or transfer money to people whom you do not know well enough. The criminal may spend months building rapport with you before asking for money;

- Do not give personal details about yourself or friends when interacting with unknown persons over the phone; and

- If you receive any message or call from anyone claiming he/she is in some kind of trouble overseas and need you to urgently send money over, you should report the matter to Police and not transfer the money.

If you have any information related to this crime, do not hesitate to call the Police hotline at 1800-255 0000 or 999 for urgent Police assistance.

Twitter Account Spamming for Yahoo IDs

This spam Twitter account has caught our attention. It seems to be automatically mentioning other users the exact same tweet, except that there are various Yahoo IDs that are being randomly generated from a list.

@YOUR_TWITTER_USERNAME Random but my friend Adriana seen your pics, is her yahoo name add her online she thinks your hot

The scammer has made it too obvious for dumb Twitter users to fall into the trick as once you open his/her page, you can see similar tweets for other users. How many female friends do this "person" has who, at the same period of time, happen to think so many Twitter users are hot and willing to share with him/her?

We have no idea what is the scam about but it definitely is seeking all potential victims to email or add the "babe" in Yahoo Messenger.

Anyway, some of the Yahoo IDs listed are of following:

stimulating890babe
bieber72chick
adri18stunning
sugar2audriana91
angel89adriana
beach7983babe
animatedadriana826
bad1660female
cute50adriana
adri96stunning
stunning73adri
bad7193female
softball91chick
loyal727chick
pretty2937pink
emo6865adriana
emo73gurl
love4514adriana
cute50adriana
loyal813chick
cute50adriana
bieber26chick
adriana5537ocean
bad1660female
sweet8944sexy
erotic35chick
adrianalove4999
pinkforever11girl

Note that there are some similarities in the user IDs. The Yahoo accounts could be created via certain software that has managed to break into Yahoo's registration spam protection.

We hope this has helped to broaden your skill in exposing fake Twitter accounts.

China Bank SMS Scam

Presenting you the great money making opportunity...

+265 998 74 16 64:
I AM MAO CHEN FROM CHINA BANK, I HAVE AN URGENT BUSINESS DEAL FOR YOU WORTH 26 MILLION USD.PLS ITS IMPORTANT YOU CONTACT ME VIA EMAIL: maochen05@yahoo.com.hk

26 million US dollars!

Hey baby Mao Chen, why don't you call me directly since it's so urgent? Can my pet bunny do the business with you inside the toilet? We will be pleased to arrange it on the new World Toilet Day.

We laughed upon seeing this SMS, how about you?

For those who don't get the joke, please note that this is just an SMS scam.

Overseas Phone Call Scams

Have you been getting phone calls from overseas?



+200034
+67690110
+67690112
+99001

If you have picked up the call by accidental or due to your courage, do let us know how does the scam work. Did the scammer ask you to collect any prize or tell you that your relative is being kidnapped overseas?

If you don't know how to differentiate between overseas and local call, do read on.

Whenever anyone calls you, the number will display a plus "+" on the left, together with the country code (a number). For new number calling you from Singapore, you may see +65 on the left because 65 is Singapore's country code. If you receive a call from your friend without "+65", it may be due to you saving his/her number without it on your phone's address book before that.

Currently, Singapore's numbers consist of eight digits. Numbers beginning with "6" are for residential and office use, while "9" and "8" (newer) are for mobile phone. That means you will only receive calls from your local friend with either eight or 10 (with "65") digits.

Scammers can be tricky enough to use numbers starting with the digits "6" or even "65" to call you. Since residential and office number starts with the digit "6", we may fall into their tricks and think it is a local call.

Do note that it is also possible to fake phone number.

Now, back to the main topic... Whoever knows the real intention of the overseas calls, do update us!

Job Scams Regarding Tan Tock Seng Hospital

Scammers have created fake email address to email to victims regarding job opportunities in Singapore. The scammer would then collect fee from the victims.

Do note that big organisations and companies will have their own domain name in their email addresses. For example, Tan Tock Seng Hospital's domain name is www.ttsh.com.sg and their email addresses will be something like contact@ttsh.com.sg. They will not use free emails such as GMail, Yahoo Mail or Outlook.

By the way, the scammer may also get similar domain names like tssh or ttshospital to trick. When in doubt, always Google for the real website and check with the authority.


From Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Facebook page.

Dear friends,

We wish to alert you of a possible scam, where emails requesting payment for employment opportunities at Tan Tock Seng Hospital were sent to residents in the Philippines. These emails invited interested applicants to attend a supposed 'Tan Tock Seng Hospital Working Visa Interview Coaching' in the Philippines on Aug 3-4. Please note that Tan Tock Seng Hospital did not send out any emails of this nature. The emails are from tantocksenghosp@live.com, which is a bogus email address.

Tan Tock Seng Hospital does not have a consultancy firm in the Philippines, nor do we collect payment from candidates for any training or coaching. Any interest on job opportunities are to be made directly with our Human Resource department at hr_enquiry@ttsh.com.sg.

We have reported this matter to the authorities. Do warn your friends or loved ones who may have received similar emails. Our thanks to those who alerted us to this. Thank you.

Part-time Job Scams For Minor Preys

This is one of the most sickenning scams we have come across so far.

As reported by Channel News Asia, a 22-year-old guy by the name of Emmanuel Lim Chin Pin preyed on young girls using Facebook. His four victims are between the age of 13 to 14.

For his fourth victim, he offered part-time job that paid $25 per hour just to "feedback about massage service". He would then pretend to be the masseuse and make the victim strip off her school uniform before molesting and sexually abusing her.

Everyone should beware of high paying part-time jobs that require you to go into private houses. If you really can't resist the temptation of the money, at least bring a friend along.

We are very sure that similar scam methods will be used sooner or later. In fact, it is very easy to create a fake Facebook account to do it. Please look out for your friends and give necessary help and advice in order to prevent such crazy thing to happen again.

Lastly, we hope the victims will be able to get over the shadows of their lives soon.

Facebook Impersonate Scam to Ask Victim's Friends for Money

We have witnessed many fake social media profiles in both Facebook and Tagged. Most of the accounts are pretty "harmless".

Today, we have been notified about a more unusual impersonate scam (has happened before though) that the scammer is trying to con the victim's friends into "loaning" him/her money.

The victim is Lyndie Ong, https://www.facebook.com/LyndieOng, a Malaysian.







We would like to advise everyone that if you happen to receive a text from a friend whether through social media or SMS to ask for "help", it's better to double confirm by calling the person directly to hear the voice, or even to meet up the person. You will never know who has hacked or stolen your friend's account or even phone.

Stuck-at-Custom Friendship Scams

Below is likely to be a scam. The scammer would pretend to befriend the victim and decide to drop by the victim's country. Then, he would be "trapped" at the custom for whatever reasons and require the victim's financial assistance.

There are many kind souls among us who are willing to offer help to friends. However, we would like everyone to take extra precaution when it comes to any form of help that involves in money. Even your real life friends may not return you the money you loan to them, what makes you think an online friend from another country will return?




Hi all,

I came across this blog, read the stories, and thought I should share mine. It is not 100% certified as a scam case, but I am at least 99% sure. Do tell me what you think after reading.

It all began when I downloaded an app called PlanetRomeo to my iPhone. It's a gay hook-up app, so to speak.

One fine day, I got a message from this guy. He first asked me how was the weather in Singapore, and we started chatting from there. We hit it off straightaway.

He said he was from Cardiff, UK, and said that his current project would end soon, and his next project would be at Australia. He claimed that he was looking for a friend to hang out with during the 3 weeks between his current project in the UK, and the next one at Perth.

So I found out from him when he would be arriving and all the details, and waited in anticipation for his arrival.

The fateful day arrived.

Tuesday, 18 June, 2013.
I received a call from an unknown number at around 12+ pm. It was him! I nearly had a heart attack, thinking that he had arrived in Singapore.

Sadly, no, he was not in Singapore. He told me that he was stuck at the KL customs. When I asked him why, he told me he was carrying a large amount of cash, and that his cash had been confiscated by the authorities. He needed 2600 Malaysian Ringgit to pay for an anti-money laundering certificate. He said he had only 1200 Malaysian Ringgit in his wallet, and asked if I could send him the balance. I did.

Well, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013.
Another call was received from him, at around the same time. This time, he asked for 1800 Malaysian Ringgit. He claimed that the customs officer's boss needed him to pay this amount for some form of insurance. So I obliged.

Thursday, 20 June, 2013.
Wow, another call. This time, he said he needed 800 Malaysian Ringgit to pay for some endorsement that will enable him to pass through the Singapore customs without being stopped again because of his cash.

I remitted the money, and a few hours later, he called me again, and said that it should be 800 Singapore Dollars instead. Well, what could I do? I helped again.

Friday, 21 June, 2013.
What needed to be done now was for him to check that his luggage had not been tampered with, and that his cash was all intact.

He asked for 2800 Malaysian Ringgit, saying that he needed to purchase some Swif Code that will enable him to open his luggage to check.

I started getting suspicious, and googled to find out what was a Swif Code - I did not find any information on it.

Stupidly thinking that this would be the last hurdle, I remitted this amount accordingly.

He told me that he had managed to contact his kid sister in the US, and she will be remitting some money to my account

Saturday, 22 June, 2013.
I got an email from this lady, who attached the PDF copies of the transaction she did at the Bank of America. It was a wire transfer for an amount of USD 5000. Transaction was done on Fri, 21 June, 2013, US timing 9 or 10am. It was called a Payment Advice. Of course, I was more reassured with this so-called "proof".

Back to him. Well, he had the Swif Code, but before they could release his luggage back to him, he needed to pay for some customs overstay, which was quite a big amount. I can't remember how much it was, but I paid up accordingly.

Sunday, 23 June, 2013.
No news.

Monday, 24 June, 2013.
He called and told me he was not able to leave on Saturday, although I had already remitted the funds, because the office that was supposed to clear him to leave for Singapore was open half day. He needed more money for overstay.

Tuesday, 25 June, 2013.
I remitted some money via Western Union to him to pay for the overstay, but for some reason, the KL Western Union machine had some problems, and he could not get that funds. The airport officer told me that because this is a machine fault, he will not be charged for the overstay from 25 June - 12 pm on 26 June.

He also claimed that he had spoken to someone from the UK embassy, and told the person about his circumstances.

Wednesday, 26 June, 2013.
Got an SMS from the airport officer, saying that they had booked an evening flight for him.

I was overjoyed, because I thought I would finally be able to meet him, and get my money back.

My happiness was short-lived.

Shortly after the SMS from the airport officer, he called, and said that they were going to charge him for the overstay... I was speechless.

Desperately, I checked my bank account to see if his sister's funds have come through - no, no news at all.

Anyway, the conclusion: I dished out around S$7500, most of which was borrowed from friends and family, to help this man. My only hope is that the USD 5000 would come in accordingly...

Joey's Fake Tagged Profile - Alice T

http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5977415234

This is Joey's fake Tagged profile under the name of "Alice T". She doesn't have any Tagged profile at this point of time.

This profile is likely created for playing of the Pets game.

If you have anymore detail or interaction with this fake profile, do update us.

Prize Money Phone Scam

We have received an email as of below:



This is one of the most convincing scams that I almost fell for which happened to me over a period of a month.

I first received a call from a "blocked" number 2 months ago, where a female woman who speaks pretty good chinese asked me a few survey questions about my handphone choice as well as electronic products. I was eager to get off the phone so I answered quickly and without much thought. The lady ended the call by saying that her company will be having an electronic fair the next day in Singapore and that my number will be entered for a lucky draw. I didnt give it much thought afterwards.

One month of silence.

4 weeks later I received a similar call from the same woman who spoke fluent Chinese. She asked me whether I could remember the similar call she made 4 weeks ago about the lucky draw. She identified herself as Chen Xiu Zhu. I was eager to get off the phone so I just skimmed through her questions with all my superficial answers. To which she responded calmly that my number won 3rd place for the lucky draw, which included a 15 day tour to America for four people that is worth 618, 600 HK dollars. I was very skeptical but the woman was extremely glib and persuasive. She even went to the extent by telling me that this fair can be found on local media (as they had coverage over it) and I could check the chinese news. She probably knew by then that I wasnt too good with my Chinese and tried to lead me to that unfamiliar direction. She even provided me a link to the Hong Kong based company's internet address where I could find all the information of the fair and lucky draw on it. The link is: www.xinskhk.com. The company's name is Hong Kong Hong Xin Shun electronics

She then asked me to claim the prize within the next two weeks, just by simply providing copies of my passport and passports of my family members to her. I then asked her to give me some time to check it out and she gladly did. During the conversation she also noted my apparent skepticism and spent a good 10 minutes telling me not to worry that it isnt a scam and that they will not collect a single cent from me. When I got off the phone I immediately went to check the website and true enough, the company seemed pretty legit. I then went to consult my dad to ask if he thinks its legit and we both were skeptical about it.

The very next day, the same woman called back and said that I had the chance to either take the trip or convert the trip into cash which would amount to 540,000 HK dollars after reduction of a proportion of money. She kept congratulating me and even provided me more details about the company, because at that point I asked her what the catch was. She said that the Hong Kong based electronics company was planning to come to Singapore to set up shop later in October that year and that all I had to do was to come down to the event and answer reporters which will be covered by the media. Sounds pretty legit so far, as she kept emphasizing that her company will not take a single cent from me. All i had to do was to agree and provide her my name, IC number, Date of birth and bank account number and they will transfer the money over.

These are the factors that made the entire operation seem legit:
1. She kept emphasizing that her company will not take a single cent from me
2. The website she gave me seemed legit and even contained a news result on the lucky draw of which my phone number was listed
3. I couldnt seem to find any scam reports or alerts to this particular case on the internet
4. She managed to convince me that her company was setting up shop in Singapore later in the year
5. She managed to keep me on the phone for close to an hour, explaining that she will never resort to a scam and told me all the company was doing etc etc, basically building a very strong rapport with me, even telling me that I could go to the police if I wanted to but emphasizing that her company was legit
6. The very next day she even set up an account for me under the guise of a hong kong hang loong bank or something and even gave an account number: 0008168959 and a password that all seemed pretty legit
7. She willingly talked to my dad for an hour reassuring him that its not a scam
8. She conducted herself in a very professional manner, so much to the extent where i literally placed my trust in her

What busted her:
1. So it was during the week of dumpling festival where she told me that there will be three days of holidays for her and she will call me back the week after to confirm the transfer of money to my POSB account. So far so good, she hasnt asked for any money yet
2. Two weeks passed and she finally gave me a call, telling me that another personnel from the "bank" will give me a call later to confirm the transfer of funds
3. truly enough another person called me and requested that i hand over another document before the transaction can be complete (sounded very professional)
4. As they probably played on the fact that my Chinese wasnt very good, the other person made me call Chen Xiu Zhu (that same woman) from the company to assist me in the handing over of another document (which makes the story more legit)
5. Finally, after weeks of playing it back and forth, Chen Xiu Zhu finally says that I needed to hand over 4.5% of the amount over to the "bank" holding my money as they were transfering funds across countries. The first red flag. She made the mistake of identifying the instituition that held my money to be government run.
6. The second red flag - A call made from my dad to the monetary authority of Hong Kong revealed that there was no such existing agreement in such a government instituition and advised that it was most definitely a scam
7. A call made again to Chen Xiu Zhu, who suddenly became hesitant and anxious in her speech, insisting that this isnt a scam etc etc. The final red flag came when the pre-existing telephone number suddenly became defunct when I tried calling the same number as listed on the company's website
8. A more thorough check on the internet, I managed to find a very similar case posted by "almost victims" on http://saltwetfish.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/hong-kong-price-money-phone-scam/#comments

Really angry because so much thought and planning has gone behind the many phone calls made back and forth. No matter how sweet tongued and glib these people sound, as the old saying goes, if its too good to be true, it probably is!

Melissa's Fake Facebook Profile - Qadira Lion

If you have a hot Facebook friend by the name of Qadira Lion, do not be happy. The actual owner of the photos uploaded belongs to a Singaporean Melissa.

We believe, at this point of time, the fake Facebook profile is mainly used to advertise website.

Irene Tan's Tagged Fake Profile

Here we go again - yet another fake Tagged profile using our Singapore girl's photos. Will these scammers realise that when they use local girls' photos to add local people, their scam will be exposed soon?

Fang L

Profile URL: http://www.tagged.com/fanglfang

Last Active: 18 hours ago

Profile Views: 1484 times

Profile Skin: boom

Tagline: i'm not a perfect person, i make a lot of mistake but i still love those people who stay with me after knowing how i really am

Member Since: June 1, 2013

Gender: Female

Location: singapore, Singapore

Age: 25

Relationship Status: Single

Interested In: Friends, Dating, Serious Relationship, Networking

Ethnicity: Asian

Religion: Christian

Orientation: Straight

About Me

Music:

stand up for cancer... i dedicate it to my love ones...

Movies:

romeo and juliet :)I'm a HUGE fan of horror flicks, though most of the ones out there these days aren't that great.I absolutely LOVE werewolf movies-cept the gingersnaps series..

TV:

Family Guy, Deadliest Warrior, M*A*S*H, American Dad, LA Ink, a few things on TruTV, anything on the military channel, Ghost In The Shell: SAC, CSI Miami, Future Weapons, Dogfights, Deadliest Catch (yes i like it), Monster Quest and others

Books:

Santini by Pat Conroy, Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, The Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore, and Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy. My favorite authors are: Patricia Briggs, Laurell K Hamilton, Tom Clancy, PAt Conroy, Irvine Welsh, JRR Tolkien, Terry Brooks, Alice Borchardt, Kelley Armstrong, RA Salvatore, Lian Hearn, and others..I've recently been introduced to the Twilight series..and YES I like them so far..If people dont like them or the movie..well I do and you can keep your opinions to yourself..I respect yours if you respect mine....

Sports:

swimming, bowling,

Interests:

Any new people. i am looking for some one who isn't afraid to spend time with me. some one who wants to keep me well taken care of. A man who will leave me thinking of him when he is not with me

Dreams:

to make my love ones happy and in good health

Best Features:

I've got nice EYES for one thing I guess. At least that's what I've been told. I think one of my best features that's not physical is my loyalty. I'm very loyal to my friends. I will not turn my back on someone. Once you're my friend, you've got someone there for ya through thick and thin....

About Me:

Well.. I am a very out going person! I am who I am, and nothing else! I absolutely can NOT stand 'Fake' people!-what so ever! I am a very caring person, that loves to be with my family, and my friends! I have a great personality as well!

Perhaps, the only smart thing about this faker is that he/she has a decent profile write-up. He/She does not seem to be buying "pets" and thus is unlikely to be using the profile to play the PETS game. The profile is also set to "private" while most fake profiles are "public". We have no idea what this scammer is trying to do.

Despite the fake account is only around 12-day-old, the real owner of the photos, Irene Tan, has already encountered "hi" from three or four strangers on the street.

Kind souls, please report and block this fake account.

Fake Social Media Profiles

We have no idea what these scammers are up to but in case you have them inside your friend list, do remove and block them. Perhaps, if you are free, you can talk to them and printscreen for us to joke about.


Imposter of Vanessa
https://www.facebook.com/huimin.lee.716

Imposter of Isabella aka Bella Choi
https://www.facebook.com/vanessa.huang.31105

Imposter of Michelle Tan
http://www.tagged.com/axandrawongli
https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.wong.98892

Money Begging Scams

We have just received a scam alert regarding begging for money.

Hi,

I have 2 scams to report. Both involve a Malay auntie.

1. Sometime in 2012 I was going home as usual. I went to withdraw money from the atm at Compass Point to buy dinner for my family. As I was walking away, I was approached by this Malay auntie in a tudung, dragging 3 kids with her. The oldest was about teenaged and looked deeply unhappy.

The auntie gave me her sob story, about how she had no money and she came all the way here because her friend borrowed money from her and was going to return it but said that she had waited with her kids since 12pm and she still wasn't there by 5pm. I got impatient with her as I started suspecting it was a scam, so I asked how much she wanted. She said ten dollars to take a cab home as they had spent all their money to get there.

I looked at her children and struggled for a long time but in the end I gave it to her since it's just $10. I gave it to her for her children because I was sure they had no choice and looked so unhappy. Anyway I'm sure it is a scam so if you come across such an auntie beware and tell her that you'll help ask the security guard to help her, chances are she will scurry away.

2. My colleague told me about this Malay auntie who scammed him by claiming her ATM card is chipped, and that she needs money to visit her sick relative in hospital. He gave money to her but a few months later bumped into the same woman, who had forgotten him. She ran the same line by him and he asked her, "4 months ago your atm card chipped now chipped again?" and she walked away quickly.


Please never give money to such sob stories chances are it's fake. Always offer to call the security guard to help them and see their reaction. If you are near a police station, offer to bring them to the police to help them.

Thanks.

Do note that there are similar scams happening since long time ago. Ten years ago, I had personally met one at Cityhall area and the scammer was a Chinese. Anyone, regardless of race, gender, language and religion could have done these for the sake of money.

Sadly, kind souls are usually the victims. How many of you have decided not to lend a helping hand just because you are afraid of being conned?

If you happen to meet such people on the street, do not turn soft easily just because they sound pitiful. Do refer them to the security or police for help. $10 may be little to some people but others may need to work two to three hours in order to get the money. You do not want any kind soul to be conned and lose their hard earned money.

Immigration & Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA) Impersonate Scams

Police have noted a recent spate of cases involving victims who received phone calls from scammers claiming to be officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA). The scammers would call victims using a phone number similar to the ICA hotline (6391 6100). They would then inform the victims that they had not filled in their Disembarkation/Embarkation cards properly, and asked the victims to transfer funds to the scammers to legitimise their stay in Singapore. As of 2 May 2013, 49 cases have been reported, of which 22 foreign victims have fallen to the scam.

To raise public awareness to this new scam, Police have stepped up the community engagement efforts. At the foreign worker dormitories, crime prevention messages have been shared to highlight this new trend. At the inter-agency roadshows to reach out to the foreign workers, we would also include the sharing of this scam in the programme. To increase the outreach, crime advisories have been disseminated to areas like Little India, and are also prominently displayed at the remittance centres to warn potential victims. Police also partnered the Singapore Bangladesh Society to highlight this scam at its Public Awareness Campaign held on 1 May 2013 in front of Serangoon Plaza. The High Commission of India in Singapore has publicised our scam advisory by uploading it on their website. Police seek community assistance and awareness to prevent, deter and detect this new scam.

In addition, ICA had issued a public advisory to clarify that such calls are not authentic. ICA does not call up members of public for funds transfer pertaining to immigration facilities.

Members of public who received such phone scam calls should do the following:
• Call the Police immediately at the Police hotline at 1800-255 0000 or ‘999’ to report the case.
• Ignore such calls; and
• Do not transfer any money via remittance agencies, banks or any other means to the caller

Source: Singapore Police Force Facebook page

Interior Design Company Scam

Courtesy from Singapore Police Force's Facebook page:

Police have received several reports against a contractor of an interior design company for incomplete work after collect payment/deposits for renovation services in advance. Repeated attempts to contact the contractor were unsuccessful and the complainants have come forward to lodge police reports. Police investigations are on-going.

Police will like to remind the public to be mindful of such cases and take note of the following:

i) Be sure you know where the renovation company is physically located. If you are liaising with a person who claims to be from a particular renovation company, make additional checks with the company itself.

ii) Check if the renovation contractor is a HDB Registered Renovation Contractor on HDB’s website if you are renovating your HDB apartment.

iii) Check with ACRA to confirm that the renovation company is a registered business.

iv) Ask the renovation contractor for their list of clients/customers. Make enquiries with the clients/customers on the background and services provided by the renovation contractor.

Hope the tips above given by the Singapore Police Force can help to reduce the chance of you getting a wrong contractor.

Facebook Competition Scam

It is a trend for businesses to market through Facebook. One easy way to gain more LIKEs for the Facebook page is to hold a competition. Participants may have to LIKE and share the page and its post or an application in order to qualify. The result can be determined by highest number of LIKEs or simply by "luckydraw". The latter is usually a scam since the management has the right to select the "winner" and needs not even to come up with the prize in the first place.

One recent Facebook scam page is "Camera Enthusiasts".



https://www.facebook.com/pages/Camera-Enthusiasts-20/250936505045771

1. The page does not link to any website that may provide advice as stated.

2. It claims that Canon has given them seven 7D DSLR cameras for nothing, which is far too exaggerating for the price and units. Canon is not a stupid brand that does worthless marketing with seven units of such expensive camera. They would rather get their own marketing team to do the job and increase their own number of fans for their Facebook. Other brands such as Sony and Samsung would give away their cameras free only to selected famous professional photographers.

3. There is no detail about the competition, except that the preys have to keep sharing the posts. The preys are supposed to share as many times as possible in order to have a higher chance to win any unit of camera but there is no application to track it.

4. It posts a status "The comment with no likes wins 40 votes into the 7D draw, drawn tonight!" in order to make everyone LIKE others' posts to generate more views in their friends' newsfeed. This is absolutely lame but smart.



5. After the deadline of the competition, the dumb scammer continues to share the post in the page.

6. The scammer is not able to release the list of winners and claims that it is due to privacy. Any decent business page would have proudly announced the winners and persuade them to advertise the page.

We have yet to find out what are the motives of the scammer. It can be just a prank to see a huge increase in the number of LIKEs or the scammer may be selling some products in future.

Singapore Model Kayla Wong Impersonate Scam

Our own Singapore models have their shares of worries for impersonate issues. Young model like Kayla Wong has also been targeted by scammer who probably agrees that she has a very appealing looks. We mean scammers do not only rip Taiwan or Hong Kong girls' photos.

As usual, Tagged.com (merged with hi5.com) has allowed all scams to be made easy.



http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5989722970

Kayla knows nothing about Tagged.com nor its existence.

We are not sure of the intention (likely just for the dumb pets game) of the fake profile. However, we do know it's difficult to get these clones removed. The "report abuse" link on the profile is probably workable for the FBI.

After submitting a report, you will get the same template reply:

We will need the original owner of the pictures to contact us in order to confirm their identity. Please be aware that we can only take action if the stolen photo is of the actual person.

If you are in contact with the original owner of these photos, please forward them this message:

In order for us to take action against the user who has stolen your photos, we'll need you to contact us directly from the email address registered to your Tagged account. Please submit your report as follows and follow these verification steps:

1) Take a new photo of yourself.
2) In the photo, you must hold up a piece of paper with the current date and time written on it.
3) Attach the photo to your New support request sent via the contact us link on our Help page.
4) In your reply, please provide the link (URL) to the user's profile who has stolen your photos.

To send a link to another user's profile, please do the following:

-Click on the member's Profile Picture. In the Browser Address Bar, you will see the Link to that profile. It will look like this:

http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=********** ("****" represents a number)

We are not sure how well it will work but we have heard of users having problems replying to the email with attachment of their photos while following the instructions above. Anyway, it's just stupid to follow the steps.

Just a random sideline: Tagged doesn't even have a "remove friend" link on individual profiles so that we can easily remove fake profiles after adding and realising they are hoax.

We predict Tagged.com will eventually be shut down due to the large influx of fake accounts since they have no better way to stop them. With real users abandoning the social media website, how long can it last?

We do love the website for its ease of use and making friends, but seriously, can their team do a better job?

Begging Scam

From Facebook posted by Farhan Osman:

A warning to all my fellow Singaporeans.

Please be aware of this man.
My friends have met this guy for four times and all of the instances are of the same content of scam.

Recently, a friend met this person at the bus stop outside West Mall. Here are the exact words from my friend. “He suddenly came to the bus stop I was at and he pretended to faint and said he was having an asthma attack and was looking for his asthma inhaler and he lived at Tampines and without it he can’t make his way home as he might pass out anytime.” My friend then decided to call for him an ambulance but he refused.

In another instance, he was inside Tampines MRT station, with the same asthma attack drama and my friend was nice enough to accompany him out of the station to hire a taxi. He then asked my friend for money, but when my friend said he had no money with him, he scolded my friend.

What the person expects you to do is to give him some money for sympathy to take a taxi or to a doctor.

If we don’t do anything, others could possibly get cheated. So please do share.

There are just too many ways scammers can do get money from kind-hearted people.

Former principal found guilty of embezzling school funds

According to Channel News Asia, the former principal of Maris Stella High School, 66-year-old Anthony Tan Kim Hock, has been found guilty of misappropriating S$67,700 from the school's chapel building fund account between March and September 2009.

To find out more, do read http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/former-principal-found-guilty-of-embezzl/650878.html.


We urge the managements of all public sectors, including schools, to make appropriate decisions when it comes to handling of public funds.

Bogus Repairmen

From the Singapore Police Force facebook:

Breaking news:

Police have arrested 3 Malaysians aged 20, 28 and 30 who are believed to be responsible for numerous cases of theft in dwelling at various housing estates island-wide by posing as repairmen or contractors.

The "bogus repairmen" targeted elderly persons, posing as licensed contractors from HDB to gain entry into the victim’s unit on the pretext of checking/repairing pipes and leakages. Upon entering, one of the culprits would engage the victim at the kitchen or toilet while the other culprit searched for cash and valuables in the other rooms of the flat. In the latest case reported on 28 March 2013, an 81-year-old woman living at Toa Payoh fell prey to the "bogus repairmen" who made off with $200 in cash.

Police would like to advise the public to adopt the following measures:

a) Always keep your grille gates locked and never open the doors to strangers;

b) Do not allow anyone who claims to be a repairman to enter your house without verifying his identity;

c) If in doubt, verify his identity with his company, or contact your family members or Police for assistance; and

d) Do not keep large sums of money or valuables in the house. Keep the money in a safe or deposit it in the bank.

Some Fake Tagged Profiles

In the past few months, the number of fake profiles who have posted status in Tagged.com has probably exceeded the number of real ones. However, we have observed some people exposing them directly or indirectly by commenting on the statuses. Sometimes, it's simply humorous.

Anyway, excluding those very obvious scammers who are using foreigners' photos in their fake profiles, we have found some profiles that are using real Singapore girls' photos.

Real owner of photos: Maybeline
http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5986731523

Real owner of photos: Unknown
http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5981398712

Real owner of photos: Bella Choi
http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5980965870

Real owner of photos: Jamie Ang
http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5987371041

Real owner of photos: Kelly Chin
http://www.tagged.com/profile.html?uid=5984120713

Do help us to report on their profiles - we know Tagged has made it quite tough to report though.

SPCA Dog Adoption Hoax

Someone has spread a false news that SPCA is going to put thousands of dogs to sleep. It results that SPCA's phone lines have been flooded.



From SPCA's Facebook page:

Dear All

We have been informed that there has been a SMS circulating in cyber space that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) will be receiving or have received, a thousand dogs from one of Mutts & Mittens’ tenants and putting them to sleep.

As a result of the hoax message, our telephone lines at our headquarters have been ringing off the hook, putting a halt to our Animal Support Officers answering emergency calls, to the detriment of animals that need our attention the most.

The SPCA categorically denies having received any of these animals.

We will take legal action against those who perpetuate these malicious text messages.

Thank you.

Email Attack from Germany Targeting Yahoo Emails

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Happy Valentine's Day - Find Tagged Fake Profiles

Hey everyone! Happy Valentine's Day!

This entry is a little Valentine's Day present for you as we will be touching up on a simple way to discover some of the fake social network profiles. Of course, this is just a small portion of them.

For Tagged.com (or Facebook) users who have added many "chiobus" in your account, there is a very high possibility that many profiles in your friend list are fake. There are many types of scammers in Tagged.com and luckily, scammers who sign up for additional fake accounts are mainly for the sake of playing the Pets game to increase their Pet values. Apart from that, there are scammers who use fake accounts to spam for their services and websites, including for whatever "swingers' parties". Some fake profiles are more "deadly" since they are used to fool horny guys to show off their private parts in webcam before extorting the lost sheep, while a few are owned by oversized girls who is lack of attention from guys.

We have a Tagged.com account with quite a large number of "female" friends. If you own an account as well, you would know that Tagged.com would give notification if any of your friends' birthdays falls on the current day. Usually, we have ten to twenty friends who have the same birthday on each day but we have a surprise on Valentine's Day.



We actually have 41 friends who have the same birthday and it happens to fall on Valentine's Day, which is so amazing!

This is actually not something very coincident as parents do not specially pick this day to give birth - at least to say, they cannot control the exact birth date. According to our analysis of scammers, 14th February is a good birthday because it gives others a romantic feeling. More guys would send you a message with: "Hey! You're born on Valentine's Day and you must be a very romantic girl!" At least, there will be a much higher chance that they would have such fantasy.

Therefore, if you screen through your Tagged or Facebook account, you may find some suspicious friends. For our Tagged.com account, we have blocked around 10 of them who are obviously created for the Pets game. Tagged.com makes it difficult to remove friends as they do not have a link on individual profile page to do that and thus the easiest approach we can take is to block the scammer while he/she remains in our friends list. As for Facebook, the famous fake profile "Natalia Mmk" and another, "Ling Aiting", which we have yet to expose in this blog do have birthday falling on this romantic day as well.

Catching the fakers by birthday can be applied to those who are "born" on first day of the year as well. Many scammers are lazy to think of a date and thus, they would leave the birthday as 1st January. It is also safer to use this date in case the social network would challenge the user for birthday in order to recover the account in some cases.

However, do take note that there are certainly real people who are born on these days too. If you are in doubt, just initiate a chat with "her" and she will be exposed soon with her real motive if she is a fake account.

Happy Chinese New Year!

We wish all the best for everyone!

While you do house visiting, do advise the elderly on types of phone and door-to-door scams. Catching "Crime Watch" on the television is a good way to broaden their knowledge as well.

We would also like to apologise for the lack of updates here due our personal tight schedule.

We do have many scam stories to share with everyone but it really takes time to type in appropriate way. For helpful souls who have updated us with scam alert, we may not be able to publish them without evidence because we do not want to wrong any party. At times, we may have to edit the article to exclude names.

Meanwhile, let's do whatever we can for all our family members and friends.

Margaux Lee - Webcam Extortion Scam

Dear all, we have just being notified of another scam Facebook account by the name of "Margaux Lee". "She" is probably doing the same scam as "Jacky Lee". That means she is getting guys to go onto webcam for some "fun" and get them to show their private parts. After recording the indecent acts, she would start to extort the guys for money, threatening to upload the videos online.

We have found a suspicious account (https://www.facebook.com/margaux.lee.12) in Facebook but cannot confirm if it is the same account as mentioned. It seems that this user is a Pinoy "staying" in Singapore.

Please educate all your family members and friends about such scam. Our hearts are too fragile to see more people falling for similar plot.

Email Scam Continues

There is no doubt that most of us can differentiate scam emails from the rest, however, there are still many inexperienced internet users who may fall into their tricks. Do look out for vulnerable family members and friends.

My name is Mr. Ling Tia Liu; I work with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Hong Kong. I have a business proposal in the tune of $21,300,000.00 US Dollars, to be transferred out of my bank with your assistance.



After the successful transfer, we shall share in ratio of 50% for you and 50% for me. Should you be interested, please respond to my letter immediately, so we can commence all arrangements and I will give you more information on the project and how we would handle it. Please treat this business with utmost confidentiality.



You can contact me on my private email :(mrtailing@yahoo.com.hk) along with the Following information's for documentation purpose:





(1) Full names:

(2) Direct phone number:

(3) Current residential address:

(4) Occupation:

(5) Age and Sex:

(6) Scanned Copy of Identification





I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards,

Mr.Ling Tia Liu

Conmen Who Offered To Perform Prayer Committing Theft

From Singapore Police Force Facebook:

Crime Alert - Conmen Who Offered To Perform Prayer Committing Theft

Beware of strangers approaching your home to offer prayers as a ploy to commit theft.

Police have received reports of culprits who approached residents in their flats, holding a framed picture of Buddha and a container for donations. The culprits would either request to enter the flat or enter without invitation. One of the culprits would distract the victim by saying prayers, including giving 4D numbers, while the other culprits would search the unit for cash and jewellery. While perpetrators may vary their tactics in their attempts to deceive victims, their aim is to gain entry into units and distract the victim while their accomplices search the unit for valuables.

Descriptions of the culprits are as follows:
• Three male subjects believed to be Indian;
• Two of them in their thirties/forties and one of them in his fifties ; and
• Spoke to victims in Tamil and Malay.

Residents should adopt the following crime prevention measures:

• Do not allow strangers into your residence;
• Keep your front metal gate locked when interacting with strangers outside your residence;
• Refrain from keeping large sums of cash and valuables in your residence and should there be a need to do so, a safe should be used to safekeep these items; and
• Keep a lookout for any suspicious person(s) loitering outside your or your neighbours’ residence.

If you have any information on the crime or wish to report suspicious person(s) loitering in your estate, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255 0000 or dial ‘999’ for urgent Police assistance. View the following video for similar cases reported previously