When Singaporeans see the word “cheap”, they can’t resist. Their hands automatically purchase the discounted product before their minds can even make a decision.
That’s why when 600 people saw a listing on Carousell selling 50 surgical masks for just $12, they forked out $189,000 in total, with some ordering up to 4,000 boxes with the intention of reselling them.
Unfortunately, none of them received their purchases.
A scam?
According to The New Paper, these buyers had purchased the surgical masks from a Carousell seller with the username “diywallpaper”.
Red Flag 1 – Seller named herself after a completely different product.
The seller is reportedly a woman in her 20s.
As you can see, her listing says “CHEAPEST 50pc surgical mask three-ply”, with the cost price being $12.
Red Flag 2 – Typing a word like “cheapest” in all caps. These buyers are over the age of 5 and can do the math themselves. This desperation should set off alarm bells.
The seller claimed that other users were “selling this mask at a much higher price using my photos”.
She also said that the masks were made in Turkey and shipped from Turkey and the Netherlands.
However, in the end, none of the buyers received their orders, and more than a hundred police reports were made against the seller.
Reader: So, it’s just another Carousell mask scam? Boring.
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Ah, but what if I told you that the ‘scammer’ might have been scammed herself?
Reader:
Scammer becomes the scammee
Police investigations showed that the Carousell seller had made payments of about $122,000 to the alleged suppliers.
But the masks were never delivered to her.
As a result, the police said they will not be taking further action against the seller as there is insufficient evidence that she was out to cheat the buyers.
Yes, she may not have been out to scam them after all.
The seller gave her side of the story on a WhatsApp group, saying she herself had been “scammed”.
“I did not pocket a single cent and have been trying my very best to pay back. If I had any intention to cheat you guys of the money, I would not have disclosed this information in the first place,” she said.
Refund
Now, since this woman paid whatever she received to the scammers overseas, she’s obviously going to have trouble paying her customers back.
The police said that she was able to refund some of her buyers using the remaining $67,000 from what she collected.
This was supposed to be her profit, reported TNP.
There is, however, one very important question that remains:
Why are people buying so many damn masks?
With the Covid-19 outbreak, masks have become something of a hot commodity. But experts have already established that those who are well do not need to wear masks.
Is it possible that these people are such considerate human beings that they’re willing to fork out thousands because they don’t want to infect others in the future?
Just like eating a McSpicy and having a completely normal bowel movement after, it’s possible but highly unlikely.
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So, that leaves one reason: people are panic buying masks because they believe it will prevent them from contracting the virus.
However, these masks offer limited protection, and can even give you a false sense of security, which will make you less aware of your surroundings.
What would be more effective is to wash your hands with soap and water regularly, and practise social distancing.
You should also be wary of purchasing masks on online platforms, as there have been many e-commerce scams during the Covid-19 outbreak.
