19 Victims Tricked by ‘$4 Rimowa Luggage’ Scam on Facebook Impersonating iShopChangi
In today’s digital age, scams have become increasingly sophisticated and harder to distinguish from legitimate offers.
This was evident in the recent scam that duped at least 19 people using a seemingly irresistible offer of $4 Luxury Luggage while impersonating the online shopping platform iShopChangi.
This scam, which resurfaced in the past few weeks, caught its victims off guard.
And the platform used for this nefarious activity?
None other than Facebook.
These 19 individuals fell prey to a scam that promised cheap Rimowa suitcases on iShopChangi, resulting in a collective loss of at least $7,000.
The scam operated through Facebook advertisements and posts, promoting branded travel luggage for as low as S4, according to the Singapore Police Force.
Interestingly, there has been a noticeable increase in Rimowa advertisements recently, possibly making the scam seem more plausible to unsuspecting individuals.
To add a veneer of legitimacy, the ads claimed a collaboration between the German luxury luggage manufacturer Rimowa and iShopChangi Singapore, even alluding to Christmas festive season discounts and the German brand’s 125th-anniversary celebrations.
Such tactics significantly lowered the “too good to be true” suspicion, unfortunately.
A constant feature in these scams is the creation of a sense of urgency, with claims that the offer is limited to the first 1,000 buyers.
This tactic preys on the innate “kiasu-ness” of Singaporeans, often clouding discernment and judgment.
To avail themselves of the alleged discounted price, victims were redirected to a phishing website after clicking on the posts.
Here, they were required to input their credit or debit card details.
It is at this juncture that we must exercise utmost caution, as providing such information can allow scammers to hack into bank accounts and make unauthorised transactions, just like other Facebook scams.
The realisation of being scammed dawned on the victims only after they noticed unauthorised transactions on their accounts.
But by then, it would be too late.
The police clarified that there was no such collaboration between iShopChangi and Rimowa for a $4 suitcase, as reported by The Straits Times.
Ironically, the advertised luggage isn’t even sold on the platform.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of verifying offers with official sites or contacting them directly if in doubt.
In the meantime, for those who feel vulnerable to such scams, it might be wise to heed the advice of the police:
- install the ScamShield application
- enable security features like two-factor or multi-factor authentication for banking
- set transaction limits for internet banking activities.
And to, of course, always remain vigilant and cautious, especially with deals that seem too good to be true.
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