SINGAPORE - Two men were arrested this week for their suspected involvement in a series of online purchase refund scams, police said on Saturday (Aug 18).

The two men, both 23, had allegedly cheated an online shopping platform of about $25,900 in fraudulent refunds.

This was allegedly done over 39 instances, between August last year and March this year.

They are believed to have created multiple accounts with different particulars, and to have placed orders for high value items such as gaming computer parts, mobile phones and supplements, said police.

After receiving the orders, the pair would then claim otherwise.

They would allegedly file requests for refunds, and also list the received items for re-sale online.

The Straits Times understands that the platform involved is a major online shopping site.

Police received a report on Aug 1 about multiple suspicious refund transactions taking place on the platform .

Officers from the Central Police Division then identified the two suspects after ground inquiries and follow-up investigations. They were arrested separately on Monday and Tuesday, at Lorong 5 Toa Payoh and Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 respectively.

Stolen items amounting to about $15,000 were also recovered from the two men.

Investigations are ongoing.

If found guilty of cheating and dishonestly inducing a delivery of property, the two men can each face a fine and jail time of up to 10 years.