A new variant of a luggage sale phishing scam has appeared on Facebook.

This scam was still live on Facebook at 4pm today (Dec. 18).

It impersonated Changi Airport, claiming to offer S$4 unattended luggage -- filled with travel items, by the way -- that could no longer be stored at the airport's warehouse.

The post, published on Dec. 14, is just the newest iteration of a scam that has been ongoing since Nov. 2023.

It appeared after the Singapore Police Force issued an alert about this phishing scam masquerading as a travel luggage sale advertisement.

Luggage prices as low as S$2

The police said that similar posts were found in the past few weeks, where Facebook advertisements impersonating "Singapore Airlines Travel" or "Singapore Changi" would inform users about the sale of travel suitcases with prices as low as S$2.

These accounts use the Singapore Airlines logo or a photo of Singapore Changi Airport as their profile picture to emulate "a degree of legitimacy" in their posts, said the police.

They also have a high degree of sophistication, deploying fake accounts to rave about the cheap prices and post photos of their "purchases".

When users click on the post, they are directed to a website which requests their credentials, including name, email address and payment card details, to pay for the luggage.

Victims only realise that they had been scammed after they are notified of or discover unauthorised transactions on their card statements.

Victims lost at least S$799

The police said on Dec. 7 that since November 2023, 14 victims have suffered losses amounting to at least S$799 due to this phishing scam.

The police also advised the public to adopt several precautionary measures to avoid falling victim to scams:

• Use the ScamShield app which screens for scam messages
• Activate security features such as limits for internet banking transactions, two-factor authentication, and multi-factor authentication.
• Check for scam signs with official sources such as the ScamShieldWhatsApp bot, the scam alert website and the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688.
• Tell the authorities, family, and friends about the scam, as well as report any fraudulent transactions to the bank immediately.

Meta Platforms has been contacted on the matter

Changi Airport Group (CAG) told Mothership that they were aware of the scam and were in contact with Meta Platforms on the matter.

CAG also took the opportunity to remind the public that Changi Airport’s official social media handle is @Changi Airport and the airport does not sell unattended baggage.

The public is advised to ignore posts on the @Singapore Changi account.

Top image via Singapore Changi Facebook