$22 service to $20k scam: Woman loses savings after giving credit card details to 'cleaning company'

If something seems too good to be true, chances are it probably is. 

While looking for a house cleaning service online, one woman thought she found a pretty good deal.

The woman surnamed Ye, told Shin Min Daily News that she saw an advertisement from a cleaning company on Facebook on Nov 11, which offered a four-hour cleaning session every fortnight for a mere $22. 

"It was a very good price, and I felt it was suitable for our family. So I left my contact details with the company," said the 40-year-old administrative assistant. 

Ye said an employee from the 'cleaning company' contacted her the following day and asked her to download an app. 

Following the employee's instructions, Ye downloaded the app and keyed in her debit card details to pay a $5 'deposit'. 

"After I entered my card details, the app said my card was invalid. When I showed the staff, he asked me to try using a credit card instead." 

Even after switching to a credit card, the same error appeared, and Ye was asked to try switching to a third card. 

"I became suspicious and I decided to stop. After that, I checked my card's transactions and I realised $21,000 had been transferred out of my accounts." 

One of the accounts is actually a joint account between Ye and her child, containing $8,000. 

The bank also informed Ye that a total of 15 transactions were made, with amounts ranging from $447 to $4,884. 

Ye has since made a police report. 

Not the company's first victim 

According to Shin Min, Ye is the isn't the first victim to fall for this cleaning company's scam tactics.

Just last week, a 47-year-old woman, Lu Meilin, was also duped of $4,300 when she tried to engage the services of the same 'cleaning company'. 

Lu had also chanced upon the advertisement on Facebook, and communicated with an employee via WhatsApp. 

When Lu was filling out an online form, she was also told that her card was invalid. However, the cleaning company informed her that she could pay for their services in cash. 

Unfortunately, she received an unexpected text message from the bank informing her that her card had exceeded its credit limit. After speaking with the bank, she found out that someone had used her credit card details to make three bank transfers. 

Lu and cancelled her card on the same day. 

The National Crime Prevention Council advises members of the public who think they have fallen prey to bank phishing scams to take the following steps: 

• File a police report online or in-person at the nearest Neighbourhood Police Centre.
• Take note of the website address and phone numbers shared by the scammers.
• Immediately suspend bank account and ibanking facility with the bank.

ALSO READ: Woman ignores OTP message and loses almost $300 to online fraudsters

claudiatan@asiaone.com