SINGAPORE - A 17-year-old teenager was arrested for allegedly lying to sellers on online marketplace Carousell that he had arranged for bank transfers of money to pay for their used Apple products, before collecting the goods from them.

The police received several reports between Oct 4 and Nov 19 this year from victims who were cheated by an online buyer of used Apple products, they said in a statement on Thursday (Nov 21).

The suspect would arrange to meet the victims who had listed their items for sale on Carousell. During the meet-up, he convinced them to pass the items to him, assuring them that he had made a "scheduled transfer" to their accounts using his ibanking application and that they would receive the payment within a few hours.

However, the victims did not receive any money.

Officers from the Bedok Police Division arrested the teenager on Wednesday.

Based on preliminary investigations, he is believed to be involved in at least five cases of e-commerce scams amounting to more than $5,000.

He is expected to be charged in court on Friday with cheating, which carries a fine and a jail term of up to 10 years.

For more information on scams, go to www.scamalert.sg or call the anti-scam hotline on 1800-722-6688.

To provide information on scams, go to www.police.gov.sg/iwitness or call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000.