S’pore Man Manages To Cheat $175K From Victim On Carousell Using Surgical Masks


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In this time where everyone is fearful of the rampant spread of the COVID-19, it is perfectly understandable that everyone would want to buy surgical masks in an attempt to protect themselves from the highly contagious virus.

However, despite our fears, we should still exercise precaution when purchasing surgical masks from online sellers because we will never know when it’s a scam.

It is sad and despicable that scammers would take advantage of the coronavirus outbreak as a way to profit off of others.

Image: Giphy

Surgical Masks For Sale

A 28-year-old man advertised the sales of surgical masks on the online market platform Carousell.

A victim comes across his post and immediately orders 500 cartons of surgical face masks because he wanted to distribute them to his company’s staff members.

They talk and come to an agreement that the victim has to pay a deposit of $175,000 for the bulk order.

The victim holds his end of the deal, and transfers the seller the money, only to realise afterwards that the Carouseller became uncontactable.

Along with the loss of $175,000, no masks were delivered.

Enraged, the victim reported the incident to the police yesterday, 14 February, saying that he was cheated by an online seller.

$175,000 Scammed, But Seller Was Caught

The authorities immediately began investigations and through ground inquiries, officers from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division managed to establish the identity of the man and locate him on the very same day.

Guess someone won’t have as good a Valentine’s Day as he thought.

The man will be charged in court today with cheating.

If he gets convicted for it, he will be jailed for a maximum of 10 years and fined.

The lesson to be learned here? Whatever crime you want to commit, you won’t be able to escape the long arms of the law. So think before you do anything.