Singapore Police Force has issued an alert to members of the public about a job scam variant, where scammers are impersonating Shopee employees, or employees of known companies to recruit victims.
Since March 2023, at least 46 victims have fallen prey, with losses amounting to at least $753,000.
In this variant, the victims would receive unsolicited WhatsApp or Telegram messages from an individual pretending to be a Shopee employee, asking them to like items on Shopee or to participate in a Shopee survey to earn a small fee.
In more recent cases, scammers were observed to be adopting more sophisticated approaches to deceive victims, using easily obtainable information to craft personalised messages, and creating fake employee identification to appear more convincing.
Victims who complete the survey would then be offered a higher paying role of a “Shopee Assistant” by another scammer impersonating a Shopee customer service personnel or a Shopee mentor.
These tasks begin with registering an account with a fake Shopee website, where victims would be instructed to choose a pre-paid “task package” and pay monies to bank accounts provided by scammers before they are able to start “work”.
Victims often receive their increased earnings in the initial phase and would be convinced to top up their accounts to receive more earnings.
Victims would realise they had been scammed when they could not withdraw their earnings or when the scammers could no longer be contacted.
The Police and Shopee Singapore would like to advise members of the public to remain vigilant and adopt the following precautionary measures:
ADD – ScamShield App and set security features (e.g., enable two-factor (2FA) or multifactor authentication for banks, social media, Singpass accounts; set transaction limits on internet banking transactions, including PayNow).
CHECK – for scam signs and with official sources.
- Shopee will only contact you via official channels, such as the Shopee App, Shopee’s verified social media and Whatsapp accounts, or email addresses that end with shopee.com.
- Never transact outside of the Shopee app. Shopee does not require anyone to pre-pay any monies in order to secure a job and does not offer payment in exchange for likes on products on their platform. There is also no job position titled “Shopee Assistant”.
- If you have any concerns or clarifications, contact Shopee Customer Service at +65 6206 6610 or chat with our live agents in-app.
- Visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam helpline on 1800-722-6688.
TELL – authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report the scammers to WhatsApp, Telegram and to Shopee
If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688.
