AN online order for grouper fillets that was supposed to cost S$10 (RM34) ended up costing one woman over S$44,000 (RM151,140) after scammers took control of her Android phone and banking details remotely.
Jacqueline Khoo, 58, lost S$44,487 (RM152,810) from two credit card accounts and three bank savings accounts from POSB in a few hours after she clicked on a link to download a third-party app, following which the scammers then increased her credit limits and siphoned out her money.
Khoo had chanced upon a Facebook advertisement for grouper fillets from a seafood supplier called “Fresh Market TGS” on Aug 25. She was attracted by a deal that offered S$10 grouper fillet with free shipping and contacted the seller on Facebook.
“Although I never bought anything from Facebook before, I had previously bought fish and pork from Shopee and Qoo10. I was not suspicious of the ad and it never occurred to me that this was a scam,” she told The Straits Times.
It was only three days later, when Khoo wanted to check if she received her pay, that she realised she was “left with a few dollars” in her bank accounts. She lodged a police report on Aug 28.
The police confirmed to ST that a report had been made and investigations are ongoing.
ST has also contacted POSB for comment. — The Straits Times/ANN
