Woman Found Man’s Credit Card & Allegedly Made Over 200 Transactions Amounting To $12,000

By
Boon Hun
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In Singapore today, having a credit card isn’t just desired, it’s encouraged as well. That or a debit card that’s able to do cashless transactions.

After all, Singapore’s trying to go cashless right now.

But with the added convenience comes a downside as well: security issues.

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And like this man would tell you, sometimes, the convenience might not be worth the hassle of getting stolen from.

Man Realised His Credit Card Had Transactions Amounting To $12,000

On 13 Dec, a man lodged a police report, claiming that his credit card has been used for over 200 transactions amounting to $12,000.

He told the police that he had lost his credit card. And that the transactions were made between Oct and Dec 2018.

Which is, honestly, puzzling because how can you lose your card for such a long period?

But apparently, he did, and the police got to work.

Woman’s Identity Tracked Down

Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) managed to track down and identify the 24-year-old woman.

They arrested her along Lakepoint Drive on 3 Jan and seized items suspected to have been purchased with the stolen credit card.

Image: STOMP
Image: STOMP

The items include facial care products, crafting supplies and clothes.

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Hmm…innocuous yet insidious.

Police’s Advice For Debit/Credit Card Holders

So, it’s impossible to pay everything by cash nowadays.

I mean, it’s still possible now but judging by how the government’s coming up with different ways to incentivise Singaporeans into going cashless, it’ll be a thing of the past soon enough. Have you been a an ActiveSG gym? They don’t even accept cash because cash is too yesterday.

So how else can you safeguard yourself?

Well, the first would probably be to report your card lost the moment you discovered that you’ve lost it.

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But if you, unfortunately, didn’t know that you’ve even lost your card, here are some other ways you might want to consider:

  • Opt for SMS OTP verification for purchases or charges to your credit/debit cards
  • Opt for an SMS to be sent to your handphone for any charges incurred on your credit/debit card
  • Check bank statements and alert the bank immediately should there be any discrepancies or fraudulent charges
  • Do not give out your credit/debit card details to strangers

The best way is the second option: while you might get lots of SMSes, that little notification might just save you thousands of dollars.

Shop Owners or Employees Have A Part to Play As Well

True, a credit card doesn’t have a photo to identify the user by.

But there are correct card acceptance procedures in place that they can follow too.

One would be looking at the name written on the card, and should anything be suspect, to alert their processing bank immediately. While signatures can be forged, names can’t: if you see a guy using a credit card that belongs to “Mary Tan”, you can bet that something’s wrong.

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Boon Hun
Email: [email protected]
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