The Singapore Police issued a warning on 7 January about a new scam on social media that saw at least 11 victims losing about $53,000.
The job scam involves a fake mobile app, Shopee Pay, where victims were invited to take part in jobs that promise commissions through sales of products on the app.
It is worth highlighting that the app is unrelated to Shopee.
The victims would be instructed to download the fake Shopee Pay app from a website provided by the scammers.
One of the job requirements includes depositing funds into their Shopee Pay accounts through the purchase of cryptocurrency and transferring them to cryptocurrency wallet addresses that were stated in the app.
After the transfer is done, the fake app would show that funds are now available for their job transactions, and the victims would have to place the items into their carts and pay for them using the said funds.
The victims were told that they would earn a commission for completing the orders.
Some of the victims would then be told that the Singapore Monetary Authority had frozen their Shopee Pay accounts and that further top-ups were needed to release the funds.
The victims would later find out that they had been scammed when they were unable to withdraw the commissions that were shown in their accounts on the app.
Not affiliated to Shopee
Shopee has said that the Shopee Pay mobile app is not related to them, and their e-wallet feature ShopeePay is only accessible on the official app.
The police also advised the public not to accept dubious job offers that offer lucrative returns for minimal efforts, and to not download apps from unverified sources.
They also reiterated the importance of not sending money or transacting in cryptocurrencies with people that they do not know.