A woman in Singapore recently found herself in a distressing situation after responding to an advertisement for too-good-to-be-true dim sum deals on Facebook.
The reader, driven by the allure of the cheap dumplings and egg rolls priced as low as S$1, ended up being scammed of about $24,000, according to a report by MustShareNews.
Told to download mysterious app
Upon contacting the seller through Facebook on 1 June, the reader was directed to continue the conversation on WhatsApp. It was through this messaging platform that the seller shared a link, urging her to download and install an app called ‘1st Mall v6.0’ to facilitate her purchase.
To proceed, she had to create an account using her name, email address, and phone number. However, the ordeal did not end there. The seller later demanded a S$5 deposit, which prompted the reader to reconsider the transaction due to the hassle involved.
As she noticed her phone heating up, the reader followed her daughter’s advice and temporarily powered off the device.
Upon switching it back on, she was bombarded with multiple WhatsApp messages from the persistent seller, urging her to complete the online order. Despite informing him of her change of mind, the seller persisted in his pursuit.
A conversation transcript shared with MS News highlighted the successive messages from the seller, which the reader eventually chose to ignore.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, the seller resorted to using his personal account to call the customer repeatedly, but she continued to disregard the calls. However, her concerns escalated when she received an alarming email.
$24k in bank account gone
The following morning, on 2 June, the reader opened an email from DBS, her bank, alerting her to suspicious transactions from her account.
Alarmed, she swiftly accessed her internet banking application and discovered three fraudulent transactions, totaling nearly S$24,000. Furthermore, she realized that her daily withdrawal limit had been raised to S$70,000.
She then contacted the bank, instructing them to freeze her account while also lodging an online police report, documenting the entire ordeal.
However at the moment, the bank has been unable to confirm if her money can be recovered, as the case remains under police investigation.
In addition to the unauthorized transactions, the reader received a notification regarding an unusual sign-in attempt on her Google account from a device located in the Philippines.
Intriguingly, the sign-in occurred on the same day she attempted to make the dim sum purchase. It is suspected that a hacker may have gained access to her account, changed her password, and subsequently infiltrated her internet banking account.
Left with no choice but to await updates from the relevant authorities, the MS News reader is determined to raise awareness about this scam to prevent others from falling victim to similar incidents.
Expressing her frustration, she believes that the bank should have been more vigilant, particularly regarding the sudden increase in her withdrawal limit.
She opines that the bank should have contacted her to verify the legitimacy of the significant transactions before processing them.