Couple loses $45k to scam while trying to sell second-hand sofa online

They thought they could get some cash by selling their old furniture, but one couple ended up losing $45,000 to scammers instead.

The victim, who wanted to be known as Singh, told Lianhe Zaobao that he had chanced upon a Facebook advertisement posted by a company looking to buy second-hand furniture in October.

The 35-year-old civil servant then contacted the company via Facebook to enquire about their interest in purchasing his old sofa, and both parties subsequently moved their conversation to WhatsApp.

After negotiations, the company agreed to purchase the sofa for $600 and called Singh to inform him of the collection process.

During the call, Singh received a link to an invoice and was told to show the invoice number to the driver collecting the item.

Singh was later told to log into his banking app to check if he had received the payment.

"I should've realised that the scammer was already controlling my phone remotely," he lamented.

Scammers opened new bank account, raised transfer limits

Singh only discovered that scammers had gained access to his phone later that evening, when he received another call regarding collection matters.

According to him, the scammers had opened a new DBS multiplier account under his name and increased the transfer limits of his existing accounts.

They then siphoned off the money in his personal bank account as well as he and his wife's joint bank account in three separate transactions.

Within minutes, $45,000 of the couple's savings were gone.

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Realising that Singh's phone had been infected with malware, his wife immediately called the DBS hotline to report the transaction.

A bank employee reportedly directed them to switch off Singh's phone and lodge a police report, but it was too late to prevent the scammers from making off with the money.

"Now, we have no savings left and can only depend on our monthly salaries to cover our daily expenses. We also have to pay our car loan, our maid's salary, living expenses of our two children and our pets," he told Zaobao.

Hoping for a full compensation, the couple contacted the bank again the next morning. After some discussion, they said the bank offered, out of goodwill, to reimburse half the amount they lost.

"We don't understand why such a large sum of money can be transferred without authorisation [of the transaction]. If we accept this reimbursement from the bank, it will be equivalent to admitting that I was the one who made a mistake," said Singh.

The police confirmed with Zaobao that a report has been lodged and investigations are ongoing.

Anti-malware tool rolled out on mobile app: DBS

In response to Zaobao's queries, DBS bank said they have been rolling out an anti-malware tool to prevent scammers from logging into the e-banking accounts of victims since end-September.

The tool restricts one's digibank access when it detects log-in attempts from mobile devices that are likely infected with malware or have settings that make it prone to security vulnerabilities.

Account holders will need to remove the malicious or risky apps, turn off accessibility permission settings, or stop screen-sharing before they can access digibank again.

This measure has been fully rolled out to all customers' mobile apps, said DBS.

Regarding compensation to scam victims out of goodwill, the bank said they will determine the amount offered on a case by case basis.

Victims of a suspected scam should call the fraud hotline at 1800-339-6963, or activate the 'Safety Switch' security feature to suspend access to funds and self-service banking facilities.

Scams involving sale of second-hand goods

In October, the police issued an advisory about the emergence of malware scams involving the sale of second-hand goods on fraudulent advertisements posted on Facebook.

In such scams, victims would respond to Facebook advertisements by scammers purportedly looking to buy second-hand goods.

When both parties came to an agreement on the selling price, victims would be directed to download an Android Package Kit (APK) over WhatsApp or directed to malicious links to download the APK to post photos of the items they wish to sell, or to receive deposit payment and invoice.

Scammers would then be able to access the victim's device remotely to steal the victim's bank credentials and passwords.

In September, at least 21 victims have fallen prey to such scams, with total losses amounting to at least $210,000, said the police.

The police also advised the public to only download and install applications from official app stores and be wary if asked to download unknown apps to purchase/sell items on Facebook.

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: Only 24 cents left: Woman loses $80k life savings after encountering 'wicked' scammer while selling her old clothes

lim.kewei@asiaone.com