Never Thought It Could Happen to Me: Getting Scammed Online

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Never Thought It Could Happen to Me: Getting Scammed Online

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Most people think they are too smart to get sucked in by online scammers.

‘I thought it would never happen to me’: How one victim lost S$300,000 in jobs scam
Chew Hui Min
20 Jan 2022 09:41AM (Updated: 20 Jan 2022 10:09AM)
SINGAPORE: Chris was sceptical at first when he received a WhatsApp message about an easy part-time job that could earn him a few hundred dollars a day.

But the 23-year-old, who did not want to use his real name, thought that he was tech savvy enough not to be phished or tricked by scammers, so he decided to find out more.

He now regrets that spur-of-the-moment decision, after losing more than S$300,000 of his and his mother’s savings over just five days in November last year.

On Nov 18, Chris was offered a job “buying” goods online in order to boost the sales and ratings of e-commerce merchants.

The scammer, who called herself Dorris, added him to a WhatsApp group with 10 other people who Chris now thinks are scammers like her, or other victims. But at the time, he thought they were people who wanted to make some money on the side, like him.

“They will keep on prompting the group, saying: ‘Is this a scam?’” he said. “So I thought, they’re also just like me … they actually sent photos of their daily lives.”

Besides sharing tips about the part-time job, the group members also sent food photos, bantered and joked in the chat shown to CNA.

Chris said that he Googled the company and it seemed like a legitimate firm with a professional looking website. He also called the firm but no one picked up.

He was still hesitant, but Dorris offered to let him use her account and her funds to “buy” goods at first. The payments were sent to various bank accounts which she claimed were the merchants, then the company paid Chris back the amount paid for the goods as well as a commission.

As the other people in the chat group asked questions, chatted casually about their lives and sent screenshots of funds that they had purportedly earned from this gig, he started to get sucked in.

He become convinced it was real when he received his first payment of S$1,670 from the transactions he completed for the company.

He said that each transaction averaged about S$10 at first, then the goods became appliances like refrigerators, which could cost hundreds. The most expensive item offered to him was a Rolex watch costing S$80,000.

At this point, the company also started promising him more commissions and bonuses if he could put in more money. They also told him that his account would be frozen unless he completed a certain number of transactions.

When he reached about 30 transactions, he realised he had used up all his own savings, so he asked his mother to send them money on his behalf.

Chris showed CNA screenshots of the money he sent via various local bank accounts, adding up to more than S$300,000. He also showed CNA the police report which he filed on Nov 22, 2021, which detailed the dozens of transactions.

The amounts grew from less than S$100 to thousands, then to tens of thousands, and the largest amount was more than S$116,000.

Chris told CNA that he wanted more income as he wanted to help his family pay for his 88-year-old grandmother’s medical bills.

Each time he sent the scammers money, they would ask for more, offering him bonuses and telling him that his money would be "frozen" unless he completed a certain number of transactions, he said.

After this happened a few times, he realised that it must have been a scam and reported it to the police.

When he told the scammers that he had made a police report and wanted his money back, they taunted him. He said he wanted to tell his story so that others won’t fall for the same scam, he said.

“I thought it would never happen to me (but) I was wrong,” he said. “It can happen to anyone.”

When contacted, the police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.
In full here: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapo ... im-2445816
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Re: Never Thought It Could Happen to Me: Getting Scammed Online

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Securities Body Warns of Online Trading Scams
Sou Socheat, director-general of the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC), said people, especially investors in securities, should be cautious about accounts or Facebook pages that contact them to open an online trading account.
By Ou Sokmean August 18, 2022 7:00 PM
PHNOM PENH – Cambodia’s finance regulator has warned investors to be careful when opening stock trading accounts or other financial instruments with online advertisers to avoid scams.

Sou Socheat, director-general of the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC), said people, especially investors in securities, should be cautious about accounts or Facebook pages that contact them to open an online trading account.

“If you do not understand the mechanism of internal trading under Cambodian law, I do not encourage trading with outside stocks,” he said.

“What we want to explain here is how risky stock trading is and whether it is right in our legal system and practical on the market.”

To prevent people from being scammed on opening accounts or trading stocks online, SERC and the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia would block social media that is risky for the securities market.
“We will check which social media is at risk, and we will ask for cooperation to block or take any action,” Socheat said,

On Aug. 16, SERC and ACLEDA Bank held a training course for investors and other stakeholders in the securities sector to promote awareness of non-bank financial services.
This aimed to explain to investors about stock trading mechanisms in the low-risk market, the accuracy of trading, and legal recognition, Socheat said.
The goal was to reduce the overconfidence of people online. It was easy to fall for fraud in the securities sector as stock trading scams on social media had increased alarmingly.
https://cambodianess.com/article/securi ... ding-scams
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Re: Never Thought It Could Happen to Me: Getting Scammed Online

Post by xX.TROPA.Xx »

DTA
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Re: Never Thought It Could Happen to Me: Getting Scammed Online

Post by cptrelentless »

Pig slaughtering. Usually done with crypto in a fake exchange, must be expanding out business now the crypto market is in the toilet.
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Re: Never Thought It Could Happen to Me: Getting Scammed Online

Post by xandreu »

Chris was sceptical at first when he received a WhatsApp message about an easy part-time job that could earn him a few hundred dollars a day.

They say this could happen to anyone, but seriously? A random message out of the blue from a complete stranger with an opportunity to earn a few hundred dollars a day?

For me it would have started and ended right there and then.

I'm not saying people deserve to be scammed and reading the rest of the story, I can see how he was duped and that by paying money into his account lulled him into a false sense of security that it was unlikely to be a scam, but as the saying goes, if something seems to good to be true...

Personally, I would have deleted the initial message and thought no more about it.
The difference between animals and humans is that animals would never allow the dumb ones to lead the pack.
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Re: Never Thought It Could Happen to Me: Getting Scammed Online

Post by hdgh29 »

Hey Chris I own a part share in the Sydney opera House that I could part with for a knockdown price. I need the cash more than the asset since my wife's mother's buffalo is sick and needs to be flown to Thailand to get prayed on by this monk.
You sound like just the guy to help me.
"I tried being reasonable. Didn't like it" (Clint Eastwood)
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Re: Never Thought It Could Happen to Me: Getting Scammed Online

Post by Jerry Atrick »

Chris is a fucking moron lol
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Re: Never Thought It Could Happen to Me: Getting Scammed Online

Post by Bongmab69 »

I dont have whatssapp, problem solved !!
When its to good to be true, mostly its not true !!
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Re: Never Thought It Could Happen to Me: Getting Scammed Online

Post by Freightdog »

I’ve experienced quite a lot of spam, hoax, phishing in recent months.
Much of it is easily identified, but not all.

Viber- mass marketing messages to thousands of subscribers in one hit.
Telegram- several attempted new connections. These seem mainly related to previous Cambodian cellphone numbers that I’ve had, which have since been reassigned, or my new number being contacted by associates of the previous holder.

But then we get the UPS/FedEx/DHL scam emails. I’ve received quite a few important documents recently, and the offices in Phnom Penh seemingly use random delivery drivers/riders to deliver the documents. I’ve had a lot of suspect emails which have been reported back to UPS and DHL. I never click on links in emails unless I know by other means that it is legitimate. Some of the spoof email addresses do seem legitimate unless you delve in a little deeper.

Then I get to the stuff that is hard to distinguish.
With recruitment, companies are sending out emails with lots of links. Several companies, following COVID/Brexit and any other excuse have restructured, and started up parallel businesses duplicating previous efforts. Recruiters see a red flag when registering details using an anonymous email address- they like to see one’s own name reflected in the address. To apply for a job, you’re obliged to leave your details on their website, and trust that they manage the data accordingly.
Recruitment processes frequently require accessing online systems via emailed links- how secure is this?
A previous company got hacked several times, and as a result made their internal security so limiting that we couldn’t access some documents that we needed operationally on a daily basis. Nobody knows the source of the hack, though.

With each passing week, I’m more inclined to disconnect from the internet as much as humanly possible. I’d like to have people write a bloody letter if they need to contact me, and post it. But this modern world can’t support that so easily.
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Re: Never Thought It Could Happen to Me: Getting Scammed Online

Post by ressl »

I’d like to have people write a bloody letter if they need to contact me, and post it. 
you are sure this works with Cambodiam post services? :chin:

Anyway, just today I got a call from a Japanese number. They even knew my first name. After the first hello, I asked the girl, if she wants me to trade any Bitcoins or other financial bullshit. Nono, not at all, it won't take longer than just 2 minutes and it is about a financing business, that - *click*
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