Man held over suspected involvement in a series of car rental scams

A man has been arrested over his suspected involvement in a series of car rental scams.

The police said yesterday that they arrested the 30-year-old man on Wednesday after investigations of reports made between June and December last year by victims of an online seller who had advertised cars for rent.

The victims did not get a rental car after sending their payments to the seller.

The Ang Mo Kio Police Division established the identity of the man following an extensive probe.

According to preliminary investigations, the man is suspected of being involved in five other car rental scams islandwide.

He will be charged in court today with cheating. Should he be found guilty, he may be jailed for a period of up to 10 years alongside a fine.

According to statistics released by the police on Wednesday, at least $633.3 million was lost to scams last year.

E-commerce scams were among the top 10 scams last year, with 2,707 cases reported and $5.8 million lost by victims.

To avoid falling prey to scams, the police urged the public to:

•Take precautions such as choosing to use in-built payment options that release payments to a seller after the delivery of a product;

•Use trusted e-commerce platforms for transactions;

•Avoid making advance payments or direct bank transfers to sellers;

•Pay attention to prices that seem too good to be true because they are usually scams;

•Buy only from authorised sellers and reputable sources.

They added: "The police take a serious view of persons who may be involved in scams and frauds, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law."

For more information on scams, visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline on 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on scams may call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit the information online.