90 cents left in bank account: Pregnant woman loses nearly $60k after falling for tingkat delivery scam

A pregnant woman wanted to get healthier meals but ended up losing her entire savings after falling victim to a scam.

The 32-year-old woman, surnamed Yan, had chanced upon a Facebook advertisement of a tingkat meal service on Sept 4, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Enticed by the $5 set meal consisting one meat and two vegetables, she contacted the seller through WhatsApp, who later gave her a link to download an APK file to make payment.

Despite multiple attempts, Yan was unable to download the file on her mobile phone and hence told the seller to cancel her order.

While the seller sent her voice messages urging for patience, she ignored them as she had lost interest in the tingkat meals, Yan said.

She only noticed something amiss two days later.

"I couldn't even withdraw $50 from my bank account," Yan told the Chinese evening daily. 

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Puzzled by this, Yan immediately called the bank, and was reportedly informed that over $58,000 had been transferred out of her savings and deposit accounts.

Yan filed a police report on the same day and was told that she had likely fallen for a malware scam.

She told the Shin Min that although the APK file download was unsuccessful, her phone became extremely hot, and she was unable to open her mobile banking app.

The woman also said that she has never divulged her bank account details, OTP, or Singpass information to anyone.

"The next time someone asks me to download anything, I'll never dare to do so again," Yan added.

Left with 94 cents in her bank account

The scam wiped out Yan's savings, leaving her with 94 cents in her bank account, she said.

Yan told Shin Min that she had scrimped and saved nearly $60,000 over the course of the seven years she has been working in Singapore.

The incident also disrupted her plans of returning to Malaysia in November to give birth.

Seeing her predicament, Yan's colleagues chipped in to raise some money and presented her with several red packets to help cover her living expenses.

Yan's husband, who works in Malaysia, also rushed to Singapore after discovering that his wife had fallen for a scam.

Rise in malware scams

Noting a rise in malware scams in Singapore, the police have advised members of the public not to download any suspicious APK files on their devices as they may contain phishing malware.

The following precautionary measures should be adopted:

• Add anti-virus/anti-malware applications, and update your devices’ operating systems and applications regularly to be protected by the latest security patches
• Check developer information on the application listing and only download and install applications from official app stores
• Tell authorities, family, and friends about scams and report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately

If you suspect that your phone is infected with malware, you should do the following:

• Switch to 'flight mode', turn off WiFi and run an an anti-virus scan on your phone
• Check your bank account, Singpass and other accounts for any unauthorised transaction
• If there are unauthorised transactions, report the matter to the bank, relevant authorities, and lodge a police report

In the event that there is no malware found on your device, do a "factory reset" and change important passwords. 

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the anti-scam helpline on 1800-722-6688.

ALSO READ: Woman swears won't shop online again after losing nearly $40k in tingkat scam

lim.kewei@asiaone.com