Given the legitimate-looking nature of scams today, it can be easy for members of the public to fall prey to them.
Even businesses with expertise in their respective fields may occasionally become victims as well.
Recently, a car dealer in Singapore took to Facebook to share how they were allegedly scammed of more than S$120,000 within a short span of two months.
The car dealer has since lodged a police report against a suspicious salesman, who apparently went missing after promising them refunds for vehicles he failed to deliver.
Earlier this month, Star Performance Motor penned a lengthy Facebook post about the alleged scammer in hopes of preventing others from falling victim.
They shared that they first established contact with the salesman on 15 Mar.
The salesman introduced himself as an “authorised bidder” who helps customers trade in their old vehicles to purchase new ones.
He asked if Star Performance Motor wanted to purchase a BMW 116D for S$55,000. The car dealer agreed.
Source: Carousell, for illustration purposes only
Star Performance Motor subsequently paid a deposit of S$1,000 to reserve the car.
The vehicle was due to be handed over in two weeks’ time, subject to a pre-purchase inspection.
Over the next two weeks, the car dealer approached Star Performance Motor regarding the sale of three other vehicles:
Star Performance Motor was interested in all three cars and transferred the necessary funds to secure them after signing the respective sales agreements.
However, they soon became impatient when they did not receive the vehicles even though it was past the agreed delivery dates.
When probed for updates, the car salesman allegedly blamed it on an “agent” for being slow and assured them that “he will work on it”.
On 5 Apr, the salesperson refunded Star Performance Motor S$11,000 for the sale of the Hyundai Avante.
He claimed that the seller backed out as he couldn’t get a COE for his new car.
Source: Motorist.sg, for illustration purposes only
He cited the same reason for the BMW 116D but did not provide a refund for the vehicle.
Two weeks later on 19 Apr, the salesperson approached the car dealer regarding the sale of a Honda Grace for S$74,000.
Even though the other two cars had still not been delivered, Star Performance Motor was under the impression that the deals were legitimate since the salesperson had given a refund for the Hyundai Avante.
As such, they went ahead and placed a deposit of S$3,000 on the Honda.
A few days later, Star Performance Motor had the opportunity to inspect the Mercedes Benz C180 in the presence of the owner.
The vehicle was apparently in good condition and “everything tallied”, again boosting the salesman’s legitimacy.
On 26 April, Star Performance paid for the sale of the Honda Grace in full, which amounted to S$71,000.
Source: Star Performance Motor on Facebook
However, the car dealer did not hear much from the salesman for the next month or so.
On 22 May, the salesperson contacted Star Performance Motor and informed them that the Mercedes Benz C180 was ready for collection.
The plan was for him to pick the car dealers up to collect the Mercedes.
On the day itself, however, the salesman claimed that Traffic Police (TP) officers had stopped him for using his phone while driving.
In light of this, the salesman was allegedly brought to TP headquarters and folks from Star Performance Motor were told to meet him there.
Yet, when they headed to the headquarters, there was apparently “no record of him being caught”.
While they were there, they took the chance to lodge a police report against the salesmen.
Source: Star Performance Motor on Facebook
The salesman finally replied them at night, saying that he had been released from custody.
But instead of handing over the car, he told the car dealer that he would refund the full amount.
The next day, the salesperson headed to the car dealer’s office to sign an IOU document, promising to pay them back a total of S$121,600 on 25 May for all the undelivered vehicles.
Unfortunately, the salesperson has gone missing ever since signing the document.
Having allegedly lost more than S$120,000 in a period of about two months, Star Performance Motor hopes their story will help prevent others from falling victim to the same scammer.
On Tuesday (20 June), McWell Ventures, another car dealer in Singapore, posted a TikTok clip showing how they baited the same salesperson into admitting his involvement in the alleged scam.
The video shows Don from McWell Venture conversing with the alleged scammer in what appears to be the former’s office.
For context, the alleged scammer had apparently reached out to Don asking him if he would like to purchase a car.
However, Don had a hunch that something was amiss after realising that the sales agreement he signed was similar to that in Star Performance Motor’s Facebook post.
By then, however, he had already paid a deposit of S$1,000 for the vehicle.
Halfway through the discussion in the clip, Don presented the alleged scammer with Star Performance Motor’s viral Facebook post, pointing out that his name and face were there.
The car salesman tried distancing himself from the scam, claiming that Star Performance Motor had dealt with one of his employees.
He further claimed that his face was on the post only because he was the “owner of the company”.
However, Don later revealed that he had contacted Star Performance Motor themselves. They told him that they dealt with the salesman directly, not one of his staff.
In light of these events, Don requested the alleged scammer to refund his deposit of S$1,000. In return, he will consider the case closed.
After some back and forth, the alleged scammer eventually refunded the S$1,000.
In a subsequent video, Don shared that the alleged scammer is still going around conning car dealers even though he’s currently in the midst of investigations.
He also expressed his hope that others will not fall victim to the same scheme upon watching his exposé.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from CarBuyer Singapore.
The authorities have investigated and closed the incident with no follow-ups required, MFA said.
He crossed the border daily in hopes of buying a house for his family.
On a few days, the thundery showers might extend into the night.
His church has urged parishioners to refrain from visiting him as he heals.
The kitten will be put up for adoption after its injuries are cured.
The toasts were barely a few centimetres thick.