SINGAPORE – It took her two years to save up the $17,000 she wanted for her wedding, and in simply sooner or later in September final 12 months, she lost the cash to a job scam.
Iris (not her actual identify), 34, had come throughout an commercial on Facebook for a part-time advertising gig.
She thought she may make some more money for her massive day, which was scheduled for the top of 2021.
The hours have been versatile and she may do the assignments on-line.
She messaged them on Sept 16 final 12 months they usually replied instantly, saying she was employed as an internet affiliate marketing affiliate, purportedly for e-commerce platform Qoo10.
The Singaporean, who’s working in an administrative position in an engineering firm, was then instructed to use her personal cash to pay prematurely for merchandise on the platform, to increase the gross sales figures of retailers.
The “hirer”, who Iris solely exchanged WhatsApp messages with, mentioned she can be reimbursed with a small fee.
She was then put in a WhatsApp group the place she observed some directions got here from folks with international phone numbers.
“I assumed it was unusual that (the scammers) informed me to make cost to a checking account they supplied, as a substitute of paying on the platform.
“But I brushed it off considering I used to be paying instantly to the product owner’s checking account,” she mentioned.
Within an hour on the identical day, Iris had transferred $620 to them and made about $100 in earnings from “shopping for” 4 gadgets on the platform.
When she noticed she had $720 transferred to her account, she accepted one other project that entailed transferring a bigger sum of $1,600 to “purchase” a mini desktop.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/she-lost-17k-she-had-saved-for-her-wedding-to-a-job-scam
