Phone scam victim gets S$200 back after going to the police, tells others 'don't anyhow shop'

He transferred money to the man after messaging him on WhatsApp.

Tanya Ong | June 15, 2020, 03:36 PM

A man in Singapore took to Facebook detailing his experience of getting cheated of S$200.

Spoke to a 'seller' over WhatsApp

In his post, Paul Teo said he was trying to buy a new phone.

The 'seller' offered him a huge discount on it, and requested that he send him a private message on WhatsApp.

According to Teo, the man said that he could have the phone on the same day, but insisted on Teo giving a deposit of S$200.

Their conversation on WhatsApp spanned nearly three hours, which Teo said led him to think: "Nobody will be so free to talk to me for 3 hours just to scam S$200 right?"

Teo also added that the 'seller' even sent a photo of an NRIC, as well as a video of someone holding the NRIC.

After transferring him S$200, he was asked to pay an additional S$300 for a "Covid protection deposit", which was "refundable".

At this point, Teo said he wanted his money back, but the man refused.

Managed to get S$200 back

So, Teo made a police report.

And fortunately, he managed to get his S$200 back.

Teo replied to a comment explaining how he got his money back:

"Got bank acct that I Transfered and the nric of the mastermind.. and show the officer Im really very sad.. 😔"

Paul Teo/FB

"I was cheated because of my greed," he said.

Teo wrote that he has "learnt (his) lesson" and hopes that sharing his story can help others in some way.

He urged others to be wary of products and services that sound too cheap to be true.

You can see his Facebook post here.

Top photo via FB/Paul Teo