SINGAPORE, Oct 19 — A 25-year-old man who had allegedly cheated more than 500 victims of over S$400,000 (RM1.23 million) in a series of e-commerce scams will be charged today (October 19), the police said in a statement last night.

The alleged scams involved the sale of gaming chairs, gaming consoles and electronic lifestyle products sold at discounted prices through e-commerce platform Carousell, the police added. 

In an earlier statement on Saturday, they had said that the man had been arrested after being allegedly involved in at least 100 cases of e-commerce scams with victims losing more than S$114,000. The police had said then they had received several reports from victims between June 11 and last Thursday.

TODAY understands that more victims have since come forward over the past week.

“After payments were made by the victims via bank transfers and PayNow, they allegedly failed to receive their purchases,” the police said on Monday.

Through investigations in collaboration with Carousell, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department established the identity of the man and arrested him, the police added.

He will be charged in court with cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code. Those convicted of such an offence can be jailed up to 10 years and fined.

The police said they take a serious view of persons who may be involved in scams and frauds and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. 

They added that the public should take the following precautions when making online purchases:

Avoid making advance payments or direct bank transfers to the seller when possible, and opt for payment options that release payment to the seller only upon delivery

Note that scammers may entice buyers to contact them directly through messaging platforms such as WhatsApp or WeChat by offering a better or faster deal if bank transfer payments are made directly to them. The scammers may also use a local bank account or provide a copy of a NRIC or driver’s licence to appear like genuine sellers.

Purchase only from authorised sellers or reputable sources, especially for high-value items.

Those with information on such scams may call the police hotline at 1800-255 0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. ― TODAY pic