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Teen arrested for suspected involvement in Bruno Mars, USS ticket scams

The 19-year-old male suspect would become uncontactable after his victims paid for their items via bank transfers.
Screengrabs of Carousell posts used by scammers to advertise tickets to the Bruno Mars concert and Universal Studios Singapore. (PHOTOS: SPF)

A teenager has been arrested for allegedly cheating multiple victims out of close to $14,000 via e-commerce scams involving tickets for the upcoming Bruno Mars concert and the Universal Studios Singapore (USS) theme park.

In a news release on Wednesday (14 November), the police said they had received numerous reports between May and June from victims who were purportedly cheated by several sellers on the Carousell online marketplace who claimed to be selling the tickets.

The 19-year-old male suspect, who is among the sellers, would become uncontactable after his victims paid for their items via bank transfers.

Involved in at least 60 scams

The suspect’s identity was later established through investigations by the officers from the Commercial Affairs Department and arrested on Tuesday at 4.30pm along Kallang Road.

Among case exhibits seized were one laptop, one tablet and four mobile phones.

According to preliminary police investigations, the Malaysian teenager is believed to be involved in at least 60 such scams on Carousell.

He will be charged tomorrow with abetment to cheating. If convicted, he may face a jail term of up to 10 years and fined.

Accomplice nabbed

A 19-year-old Singaporean male, understood to be the Malaysian suspect’s accomplice, was arrested last Wednesday and charged two days later with cheating.

In a mid-year crime statistics report released on 23 August, the police said that they investigated 1,277 e-commerce scam cases during the first half of this year. This represented a 58 per cent spike from the same period the year before.

Of these cases, 80 per cent took place over the Carousell platform and typically involved electronic items along with tickets to events and public attractions, particularly USS.

The total amount cheated through e-commerce scams during the first half of this year also increased by 43.1 per cent to $930,000, up from about $650,000 over the same period last year. The largest amount cheated in a single case from January to June this year was $50,000.

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