2 Teenagers Arrested for Involvement in 2 Separate E-Commerce Crimes

What were you doing when you were a teenager?

Drowning in schoolwork and stressing over exams? Enjoying life with your friends? Working? Scamming people online?

Wait, what?

Yep, you read that right.

2 Teenagers Arrested for Involvement in E-Commerce Scams 

In two separate cases, two teenagers have been arrested for their involvement in e-commerce scams.

The first is a 17-year-old boy who was arrested just yesterday (11 May) for his suspected involvement in a series of e-commerce–related cheating cases. He was involved in making fraudulent refund claims. 

In a statement released by The Singapore Police Force (SPF), they commented that they had received a report from an e-commerce platform regarding phony refund requests from their “customers”.

The requests were made despite the fact that the items ordered had been delivered. 

According to SPF’s investigations, the illegitimate refund claims that the teenager made—and subsequently received from the platform—amounted to a total of more than $14,000. 

According to The Straits Times, the teenager will be charged in court today (12 May), with cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code. If he is charged with cheating, he can be sentenced to jail for not more than 10 years, and a fine. 

The second case is a 19-year-old woman who was arrested on Monday (10 May) for her involvement in a series of e-commerce scams where she scammed online buyers. 

According to SPF, between April and May this year, there were numerous reports of victims who had been supposedly scammed by an online seller. The seller had put up many fashion products such as bags, clothes, and shoes, for sale on Carousell. 

After receiving payment, the seller had become unreachable. 

In total, the seller had scammed buyer of payments amounting to $1,500 through PayNow transfers. 

Investigations by SPF have also revealed that the woman is not only involved in e-commerce scams, but also involved in a series of sexual scams. She had allegedly scammed victims into making payments in exchange for providing sexual services. 

Similar Cases 

Just a few days earlier, four teenagers were similarly arrested for their involvement in a series of e-commerce scam cases. Aged 16 and 17, they were arrested on 3 and 4 May this year.

Between 26 and 27 April, SPF received numerous reports from victims regarding an online seller on Carousell who had scammed them. The seller had put up Rolex watches for sale, but after receiving payments from the victims through PayNow transfers, the seller became uncontactable. 

In total, the amount scammed from the victims reached $2,000. 

You know, when your parents told you to have big dreams when you were young, I’m pretty sure this wasn’t what they meant. 

Feature Image: milicad / Shutterstock.com