Victim buys durians online, loses $50k life savings after downloading third-party app

[HarborFront]

Content source

https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/thorny-situation-woman-buys-durians-online-loses-50k-life-savings-after-downloading-third

It's hard to resist a good deal, especially when it comes to durians.

And for one woman, her love for the king of fruits cost her quite dearly.

The 50-year-old woman, surnamed Xu, came across a couple of Facebook advertisements for a durian promotion marking a kilogram of Musang durian for just $6, reported Lianhe Zaobao on May 10.

She eventually caved in to her cravings and contacted the durian stall TMZ Fresh last Thursday (May 4) to order durians for her family.

"The other party replied that the company is currently running a promotion where the Musang King durian is going for $6 per kilogram, while the D24 durian is going for $3 per kilogram," she shared.

After confirming details like delivery timings, the other party asked for her mobile number and said someone from customer service would follow up with her.

Later on, another man, whom Xu said sounded like a Malaysian, contacted and asked her to download an app called E2 Mall, where she was asked to enter her personal information to apply for a membership.

However, when Xu tried to use the app to make an online payment, it kept getting declined.

That customer service staff asked her to go down to a bank on Saturday (May 6) to get a bank token. She also entered her bank information into the third-party application.

Left with $7 in bank account​

Xu only realised that she had been scammed the next day when she was trying to use PayNow to pay for a meal.

Upon logging into her bank account, she discovered that about $50,000 had been withdrawn, leaving her with just $7.

Read more in the above link

Police Advisory on Resurgence of Phishing Scams involving malware to steal banking credentials​

Police Advisory On Resurgence Of Phishing Scams Involving Malware To Steal Banking Credentials

The Police would like to alert members of the public on the resurgence of phishing scams involving malware installed on victims’ Android phones, with the malware being used to steal banking credentials. Since March 2023, at least 113 victims have fallen prey, with total losses amounting to at...

www.police.gov.sg

 

[Zero Knowledge]

This is why it's so hard to stop scams, they actually work. Even if 1 out of 10000 people comply to install malicious apps the score is worth it.

 

[HarborFront]

Generally, scamming affects elderly more, even though they may know how to use their phones. Sometimes greed in a person will blind the scam like there's a promotion, cheaper products, free delivery etc

 

[Zero Knowledge]

Sometimes greed in a person will blind the scam like there's a promotion, cheaper products, free delivery etc

Greed will get you always