SINGAPORE - More than $15,000 have been lost to scammers who falsely advertised the sale of crabs priced as low as $9.99.

In these cases, several victims came across pop-up advertisements on the Internet and social media platforms offering cheap deals on crabs, sent from a restaurant known as "Crabber Resto" or "Jack Crab Resto", the police said in a statement on Tuesday (July 27).

Upon clicking on the advert, victims were directed to a webpage with a selection of crabs that were purportedly discounted from $29.99 to $9.99. When making payment via credit or debit card, they were led to enter a one-time password (OTP) on the site.

The victims never received the crabs they purchased and realised that they had been cheated only when they discovered unauthorised transactions made to their bank card.

The police reminded members of the public to be sceptical when the price of a product is too good to be true and to purchase only from reputable sources, especially for expensive items.

Cardholders should contact their card-issuing bank immediately if they receive an unexpected OTP without making any online transactions.

They should also verify merchant details indicated in the OTP text message before providing the password.

Buyers should always check that the amount deducted from their banking cards tallies with the amount they agreed to pay, and never disclose personal or Internet banking details to anyone, the police added.

Those affected by similar scams can contact the police hotline on 1800-255-0000, or submit a report online at this website.