Offered 'commission' for Pokémon trading cards? At least $51,600 lost to such scams since Jan 1
Members of the public are advised to be vigilant against job scams involving performing online tasks relating to digital Pokémon trading cards.
Since Jan 1, there have been at least seven reported cases, with total losses amounting to at least $51,600.
In this scam variant, victims would receive unsolicited calls from Malaysian phone numbers regarding a job opportunity involving online tasks.
The job would require victims to register for an account and initiate a cryptocurrency deposit to the account on a fraudulent website.
The victims would then be able to select digital Pokémon trading cards on the fraudulent website and "earn" a commission based on the value of the Pokémon trading cards.
The commission would be "deposited" into their account on the fraudulent website.
The victims would subsequently encounter "exclusive" high-value Pokémon trading cards, which would require them to make larger cryptocurrency deposits to the fraudulent website before they could "earn" the commission.
In some cases, the victims would have negative account balances, and would be asked to make additional deposits to restore their accounts.
The victims would realise that they had been scammed when they were unable to withdraw their "earnings" from the fraudulent website.
Members of the public are strongly advised to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- ADD - Add the ScamShield App to protect yourself from scam calls and SMSes.
- CHECK – Check for scam signs with official sources such as the ScamShield Helpline (1799). You can also check the legitimacy of suspicious messages, phone numbers and website links via the ScamShield app or the ScamShield website at `www.scamshield.gov.sg. Do NOT accept dubious job offers that offer lucrative returns for minimal effort.
- TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. If you have suspect that you have fallen victim to a scam, call your bank immediately to report and block any fraudulent transactions as well as make a police report.
If you are in doubt, call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 to check.
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