(Singapore, 19th) Scammers have been hosting Facebook live streams selling scratch cards and gold mine lucky bags, capitalizing on people’s desire to make a small bet for a big win and quickly pocketing large sums of money. Since August this year, the police have received at least 30 reports of lucky draw scams and 13 reports of e-commerce scams, with total losses amounting to about $160,000 (approximately RM521,600).
The police issued a statement on Saturday (October 18) reminding the public to be wary of recent lucky draw and e-commerce scams appearing on Facebook and other social media live streaming platforms.
Victims of lucky draw scams are generally attracted by the scratch card activities in the Facebook live rooms, hoping to win cash prizes. After purchasing scratch cards, scammers repeatedly request victims to remit money, claiming they can upgrade their chances of winning or increase the prize amount.
Some scammers also entice victims by allowing them to 'win first, pay later'. However, even when victims win, scammers invent various reasons such as administrative fees to get them to remit more funds, thus scamming them out of even more money.
As for e-commerce scams, victims buy “gold mine bags” in Facebook live rooms, with the chance to win prizes when opened. Scammers persuade those who do not win to keep remitting money to purchase more bags, or to buy purportedly upgraded bags with higher winning rates.
Some scammers even claim they are willing to buy back the gold the victims have won at above-market prices. However, before doing so, the scammers ask victims to remit money to receive the proceeds from the buyback.
In most cases, scammers instruct victims to remit money via bank transfers, PayNow, or DuitNow (a Malaysian mobile payment platform). Victims do not receive the promised winnings or profits, or only realize they have been scammed after verifying with the police.
According to screenshots provided by the police, some live rooms advertise gimmicks like 'Refund double if not over 100,000' or 'Guaranteed bonus of 1 million', luring victims to fall for the scam.
The police issued a statement on Saturday (October 18) reminding the public to be wary of recent lucky draw and e-commerce scams appearing on Facebook and other social media live streaming platforms.
Victims of lucky draw scams are generally attracted by the scratch card activities in the Facebook live rooms, hoping to win cash prizes. After purchasing scratch cards, scammers repeatedly request victims to remit money, claiming they can upgrade their chances of winning or increase the prize amount.
Some scammers also entice victims by allowing them to 'win first, pay later'. However, even when victims win, scammers invent various reasons such as administrative fees to get them to remit more funds, thus scamming them out of even more money.
As for e-commerce scams, victims buy “gold mine bags” in Facebook live rooms, with the chance to win prizes when opened. Scammers persuade those who do not win to keep remitting money to purchase more bags, or to buy purportedly upgraded bags with higher winning rates.
Some scammers even claim they are willing to buy back the gold the victims have won at above-market prices. However, before doing so, the scammers ask victims to remit money to receive the proceeds from the buyback.
In most cases, scammers instruct victims to remit money via bank transfers, PayNow, or DuitNow (a Malaysian mobile payment platform). Victims do not receive the promised winnings or profits, or only realize they have been scammed after verifying with the police.
According to screenshots provided by the police, some live rooms advertise gimmicks like 'Refund double if not over 100,000' or 'Guaranteed bonus of 1 million', luring victims to fall for the scam.