S’pore Teen Got Scammed on Carousell & So, He Decided to be a Scammer, Too

What do you do when you were scammed on Carousell?

1. Cry and run to your friends/parents?
2. Vow to not do the same thing to others?
3. Or admire the scam so much you decide that it’s your calling?

Now, before you think that choice 3 belongs to a movie like Ocean 11, think again because it has just happened in Singapore.

Teen Got Scammed on Carousell & Decided to be a Scammer Instead

In 2019, a 17-year-old student was cheated out of his money on Carousell.

After getting scammed, the student noticed that it was a lucrative scheme.

So lucrative that he decided to do it to others too.

According to the deputy prosecutor at the hearing, the teenager had wanted more cash to join his friends in activities.

Selling Game Credits

In 2020, the teenager started scamming other people on Carousell.

According to TODAYonline, the teenager managed to scam S$1,810 from 8 others during the short span of his criminal career.

He placed ads on Carousell, promising MapleStory and Growtopia credits but never fulfilling them.

He had also created several accounts on the platform in order to avoid detection while directing his victims to transfer the money to his bank account.

Caught

The teenager had varying success with his scheme, with victims forking out between the range of $20 and $805.

It was reportedly the victim who was scammed of $805 that managed to locate the teenager and get him to return the money.

Because he had no previous convictions, the prosecution has asked to assess the teenager’s suitability for probation or reformative training centre.

Meanwhile, the teenager had expressed remorse at his actions and hopes to be given a second chance.

For the offence of cheating, he could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

The teenager will be back in court for sentencing next week (27 Oct 2020).

Buy From Trusted Sellers

If you thought that this teenager was a unique case, think again.

Apparently, a couple in Singapore decided to scam people on Carousell after getting inspired by Crimewatch, and another lady called the cops on herself three times to avoid suspicions.

The world is still a safe place in general. We just need to be warier.

There’s a curated list of trusted sellers on Carousell where you can buy items from.

Other things to look out for are secure transactions, which Carousell Protection can do the job for you.

With all these safeguards in place, they can help keep weird encounters at bay.

Of course, don’t be too suspicious and accuse an innocent party of being a scammer, like what happened to this lady, or we’ll be writing about you next.

To know more about scams, you might want to watch these videos we’ve done in collaboration with the Singapore Police Force (and also subscribe to our YouTube channel for more informative videos, please!):