Most of us can’t resist a good deal, and that was likely what motivated an MS News reader when she saw an ad for cheap dim sum on Facebook.
With dumplings and egg rolls from as low as S$1, everything looked pleasantly exciting.
Little did she know that things would take a dark turn after she painstakingly went through the complex purchasing process.
The unexpected nightmare began when the MS News reader stumbled upon an ad for cheap dim sum on Facebook.
She got in touch with the seller via Facebook on 1 June, and was asked to provide her phone number.
They then continued their conversation on WhatsApp, where the seller allegedly sent a link for her to download and install an app to make her purchase. According to the reader, the app is called ‘1st Mall v6.0’.
In order to use the app, she had to create an account with her name, email address and phone number. But that was apparently not all — the seller later contacted her again to request a S$5 deposit.
Realising that the process was too troublesome, she decided not to go through with the transaction.
As her phone felt like it was heating up, the reader’s daughter advised her to switch the device off temporarily.
When she switched it back on, she found multiple WhatsApp texts from the seller asking her to complete the online order. Even when she told him that she had changed her mind, the seller reportedly persisted.
A record of the conversation shared with MS News showed the seller’s consecutive messages, which the reader eventually ignored.
Perhaps aware that his efforts were futile, the seller resorted to using his personal instead of his business account to call the customer several times.
Again, she ignored him, until she received a concerning email.
The morning after her unpleasant experience with the seller, on 2 June, she opened an email from DBS, notifying her of transactions from her account.
She quickly checked her i-banking app, and to her horror, found three fraudulent transactions. Each of them were for several thousand dollars and added up to nearly S$24,000 in total.
She also discovered that her daily withdrawal limit had been raised to S$70,000.
Without hesitation, the MS News reader contacted the bank and told them to freeze her account. She additionally filed a police report online, detailing her experience.
At the time of writing, she claimed that the bank is unable to confirm if her money can be recovered as the case is under police investigation.
Apart from the transactions, she also received an alert about an unusual sign-in to her Google account from a device in the Philippines.
The alert stated that the sign-in happened on 1 June, the same day she tried to buy the dim sum.
The MS News reader suspects that a hacker may have overridden her account and changed her password, before gaining access to her i-banking account.
Now only able to wait for updates from the relevant authorities, the MS News reader hopes to warn others of such a scam, so they won’t fall victim too.
She also expressed her frustration with the way events unfolded, as the transactions apparently happened late at night.
Therefore, she felt that the bank should have been on high alert when someone suddenly raised her withdrawal limit. In her opinion, they should have contacted her to confirm the multiple, big transactions before processing them.
Sadly, the unfortunate events have transpired and she can only grieve the loss of her precious savings. Nevertheless, we sincerely hope that she can somehow recover at least some of the money and seek justice for what happened.
If you or anyone you know are aware of possible scams, do alert the police by filing a report here.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
All images courtesy of an MS News reader.
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