[Tee tiong huat]

ADs in FB shd be totally avoided. FB is totally never safe.

Singapore -- 3 arrested in Singapore over suspected links to multi-million dollar 'refund fraud' scheme in the US

3 arrested in Singapore over suspected links to multi-million dollar 'refund fraud' scheme in the US

Online retailers such as Amazon and Walmart have suffered millions of dollars in losses.

SINGAPORE: Three men have been arrested in Singapore in relation to a “refund fraud” scheme that caused large online retailers in the US to suffer millions of dollars in losses.

The men are aged between 23 and 25 and investigations are ongoing, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Monday (Nov 13) in response to queries from CNA.

The US Department of Justice announced in a press release last week that 10 members of an international cyber fraud ring were indicted for a “refund fraud” targeting online retailers.

The document named the 10 men, all based in the US. It also said that these individuals participated in the scheme “along with unindicted co-conspirators in Singapore, Canada, and the United Kingdom”.

The so-called Artemis Refund Group engaged in these acts to steal goods for themselves and others from April 2019 to October 2023, said the US Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

“ARG advertised their refund fraud services heavily on online messaging forums, which resulted in hundreds of customers of the fraud placing thousands of refund fraud orders. Some of these fraudulently refunded orders were shipped to the Northern District of Oklahoma, giving rise to venue in this district,” it added.

As part of the refund fraud conspiracy, the group would instruct fraud customers to purchase a product of their choice at one of the many retailers they targeted. They then collected information about the order and contacted the retailer to initiate a fraudulent refund transaction using a variety of tailored methods.