Singapore – A variant of a job scam has emerged, with victims promising to pay for a rating app. This has cost at least 43 victims about $781,000 since April (August 30).
Midyear crime statistics released on Monday showed losses of more than $58 million in the first half of the year were attributed to job fraud.
In the latest variant, victims were approached by scammers on online messaging apps such as WhatsApp, telling them they had the opportunity to earn commissions just by rating the app.
After accepting the offer, the victim was asked to create an account using a link on the website and top up the account by transferring money to a bank account controlled by an unknown individual.
An amount equivalent to USDT, a type of cryptocurrency, was then reflected in the victim’s account.
Following this, we were allowed to start evaluating apps, each time costing USDT.
Once the account’s cryptocurrency was depleted, victims were instructed to add cash to their account.
Initially, victims were convinced of the legitimacy of the work as they could withdraw their earnings.
Eventually, they realized they had been scammed when they were unable to withdraw their commission.
To avoid falling prey to such scams, police advise the public to never accept questionable job offers that promise favorable returns for minimal effort.
Also, do not download apps from unverified sources or send money to strangers.
A total of 14,349 fraud cases were reported this year, nearly double the 7,746 reported during the same period last year.
Victims lost $346.5 million to all fraud in the first half of this year. That’s more than half of her $633.3 million lost over the last year.
Anyone with information related to such scams is encouraged to call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit it online through this website.
For more information on scams, visit the Scam Alert website or call the anti-fraud hotline at 1800-722-6688.
