Online mooncake scam: 27 people in S’pore lose RM1.11mil in a month

Victims would contact the mooncake sellers and be directed to make payment through WhatsApp, but would be given links that led to malware. — Unsplash

SINGAPORE: A new scam involving mooncake sales on social media platforms has cost at least 27 victims around S$325,000 (RM1.11mil) in August alone, said the police on Sept 5.

After contacting the “sellers” through social messaging platforms to place orders for mooncakes advertised on Facebook and Instagram, the victims were directed through WhatsApp to make payment. But the links, the police said, led victims to download an Android Package Kit (APK) file, an application created for Android’s operating system, containing malware.