S’pore Teen Scammed Over $200K From Victims In Elaborate Mobile & Concert Ticket Scams

Youngsters are scary.

Every time I see a new batch of male graduates I think to myself…

Aren’t their average heights getting taller?

Then I would turn to the news and see things like “Teen solves cancer”, or “Teen turned down Avengers work offer”, or “Teen achieves Olympic record” or “Teen starts new AI company to solve crisis.”

Shit, my position in society isn’t threatened, is it?

These guys…

They are literally looking down on their senior generation!

Boss: But, aren’t you still young enough to be in that generation?

…

A few years is a long time in this age, Boss.

Anyway, my point is, the younger generation is taller, smarter, stronger, more ambitious, or at least that’s what it looks like in my paranoid eyes.

But some choose to use that smarts for evil.

Like being a scammer.

And before anything, you might want to check out our anti-scam videos so that you can be smarter than the smart scammers:

Now, moving on…

Started with scamming M1

Neo Kuan Yong, now 20 years old, first cheated the telco M1 together with an unknown 18-year-old on September 2016.

He somehow got hold of another person’s 11B and used it to sign up for a subscription plan, then had an Apple iPad Pro (S$1238) sent to his co-conspirator.

He sold the iPad to fuel his gambling and other expenses.

It’s not clearly stated, but I can imagine this worked because Chao Botak recruits all look the same.

Levelled up in 2017

In May 2017, he decided to scam more people again. This time, it’s concert tickets scams by pretending to sell something he doesn’t have.

Specifically, Britney Spears concert tickets (S$400) and Ed Sheeran concert tickets (S$1,500).

The next month, he started doing mobile subscription plan scams. He had multiple accounts posting ads on Facebook and Carousell claiming to help people gain fast cash.

This is how it works: He promises the victim that he will pay for mobile subscription plan fees, as well as the administrative fees required to buy new phones for sign up. Then, Neo would get the phone.

In return, Neo would give a commission ranging from S$200 to S$300 for each phone. There’s even a referral fee of S$150 to S$200 for each additional friend.

But of course, it wouldn’t be a scam if Neo actually followed the promise and paid the subscription plan monthly fees.

Known locations where this scam occurred were in Planet Telecoms at Causeway Point, M1 and Singtel at Bugis Junction, and Starhub and Singtel stores at Waterway Point.

Around September 2017, Neo started to scam telcos again, abusing the phone replacement policies that he has.

He told the phone protection service hotline that he had lost his phone, but provided the details of a man he cheated previously who handed him two iPhone 7 Plus. After that, he would contact that man to collect the replacements sent to the man’s home, which he did.

From what we understand, he would sell the phones he obtained online or through second-hand shops.

S$231,699 scammed in total

Individually, each scam is considered a relatively small amount. But court documents show that the total is actually S$231,699 in value.

Neo pleaded guilty to 30 counts of cheating on 22 Aug 2019.

There is another 200 similar charges of theft and causing hurt which will be taken into consideration next week. Currently, he is out on bail of S$30,000.

The district judge May Mesenas also called for reports to see whether he is suitable for probation or reformative training.

To the smart people out there: I’m pretty sure the brains used to think of elaborate unethical means to get money can also be used for the betterment of mankind.

Or even if you don’t care about humanity, then think about the short term versus long term benefits yeah?

Long term benefits are usually more profitable than short term ones.

Like, you know, studying.