When making online purchases, especially those involving hotel room reservations and attraction tickets, be wary! From January to April 2019, more than 112 reports of e-commerce scams involving such items were received. In terms of attraction tickets, USS tickets were often highlighted. Victims either did not receive the tickets or received invalid tickets after payments were made.

We encourage the public to adopt the following crime prevention measures to avoid getting scammed: 

• Don’t be impulsive – Be wary of online advertisements of hotel room reservations and attraction tickets at cheap prices that sound too good to be true!  Do not buy on impulse.  Read the reviews of the seller before committing to a purchase.

• Don’t believe – Scammers may use a local bank account or provide a copy of a NRIC/driver’s licence to make you believe that they are genuine sellers.  Do not fall for it!

• Don’t give – As you are dealing with strangers, avoid making payments or deposits in advance.  Try to use shopping platforms/arrangements that release your payment to the seller only upon receiving the item.  Alternatively, arrange to meet the seller and pay only after collecting the item.  Bear in mind that tickets may be invalid upon entry as they are duplicated tickets. You are therefore advised to purchase only from authorised sellers.