Oh crab: Victims lose over $15,000 to phishing scam on social media in July

Two crabs going for $9.99... surely, that can't be true. What's the catch here?

It turns out, scammers want to get your credit card details.

This month, the police received reports of a social media phishing scam involving purported false advertisements on the sale of crabs.

The police said on Tuesday (July 28) that total losses among victims amounted to more than $15,000.

In pop-up advertisements on social media platforms, restaurants known as “Crabber Resto” or “Jack Crab Resto” lured potential victims with cheap deals.

"The victims would then be prompted to make payment for the crabs purchased by entering their credit or debit card details and One-Time Password (OTP) received in the webpage to complete their transaction," the police said.

Their crab orders did not arrive and victims realised they were scammed after they discovered unauthorised transactions made to their credit or debit card.

[[nid:537906]]

On July 24, AsiaOne reported that a TikTok user –Melissa Wix – had uploaded a video to warn others not to fall prey to this scam. In April, a man lost $18,000 after falling prey to a similar scam offering two crabs for $9.99.

If you come across such ads, do not disclose your personal or Internet banking details and OTP, and also report any fraudulent credit or debit card charges to your bank and cancel your card immediately. 

If you have any information related to such scams, call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or visit the i-Witness website. 

For more information on scams, visit the scam alert website or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688.

amierul@asiaone.com