Woman loses $30k to job scam, family now facing 'multitude of financial challenges'

A woman wanted to get a part-time job to earn some extra income, but she ended up paying a hefty price instead. 

JT, 42, had received a WhatsApp message on Sept 17 from a person who claimed to be Ashley Tan from local recruitment agency The Supreme HR Advisory, her daughter Elaine Goh told AsiaOne on Monday (Oct 2).

Tan told JT she found her phone number on JobStreet and informed her that a company called Q00 Media was hiring marketing staff. 

According to Goh, her mother had posted her own details on the job portal while seeking part-time work. JT, who is working as an administrative executive, wanted to make extra income so that she could help pay for her own mother's medical bills. 

JT was told that the part-time role required her to help travel booking sites complete "virtual orders", and she would earn a two to five per cent commission for each successful transaction. 

The jobseeker also heard that she would be able to earn between $200 and $500 daily. 

Enticed by the offer, JT agreed to take on the role. She was then added to a Telegram group chat by another person named Joanna, where she would receive the orders. 

When JT started work on Sept 20, she made a total of 16 PayNow transactions from her own savings account to an unknown phone number. 

Screenshots of JT's conversation with Joanna seen by AsiaOne showed that the woman was asked to pay for these transactions. After each transaction was completed, Joanna would inform JT how much commission she had made.

The transactions ranged from $253 to $3,745, and added up to a total of about $30,000. 

Joanna also promised JT several times that her money would be transferred back to her account, along with her commission.

However, JT was told that she had to transfer another $5,007 as "income tax" before she could get her money back. 

That was when JT realised that she could've fallen for a scam. By then, she had already borrowed about $5,000 from her friends to complete some of the transactions, Goh told AsiaOne.

"So now my mum is also in debt because of these loans," lamented 26-year-old Goh, adding, "If she told us she was offered this job, we would have stopped her, but she kept her mouth shut." 

Goh said her mother made a police report on Sept 28, but she has yet to receive updates regarding the case.

Last Sunday (Oct 1), Goh took to TikTok to share her mother's unfortunate encounter with the scammers to spread awareness about their predicament.

"Now my family is grappling with a multitude of financial challenges, including my grandmother's hospital bills, housing expenses, phone bills, school fees for my siblings, various debts, and even my own surgery expenses," Goh wrote. 

"Unfortunately, my income is limited, and my husband and I are living in a one-room flat." 

Goh told AsiaOne she has tried to contact Supreme HR Advisory, but claimed that her emails to them have bounced.

Zero affiliations with Q00 Media: Recruitment agency 

On Sept 16, The Supreme HR Advisory released a statement on their Instagram page saying that they have "zero affiliation" with Q00 Media Pte. Ltd — the company that claimed to have hired JT. 

"If you receive suspicious job offers, especially those promising lucrative returns for minimal effort, always double-check," said the company.

They also urged members of the public to contact them for any verification of information.

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In September, the police released an advisory warning members of the public about job scams that entice victims to earn commissions through the completion of simple tasks such as answering surveys, or transferring monies to bank accounts. 

They urged the public not to send money to unknown individuals, and encouraged individuals to download the ScamShield App and set up security features for their bank accounts and Singpass accounts. 

Those who received unsolicited job offers should also verify the authenticity of the offer with the hiring company through their official channels, said the National Crime Prevention Council.

Since January 2023, victims who fell prey to job scams have lost over $96.8 million, the police said.

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claudiatan@asiaone.com