A girl surnamed Xu saw a proposal on a Facebook store offering the Mao Shan Wang durian variety for $4.50 per kilogram and the D24 variety for $2.25 per kilogram, in response to Singaporean Chinese-language day by day Lianhe Zaobao.
In December, Mao Shan Wang durian, also generally known as Musang King, was priced at $16 per kilogram and the D24 variety was priced at $12 per kilogram, local media reported.
Zaobao A 50-year-old woman, attracted by low prices, contacted a durian seller called “TMZ Fresh” on Facebook on May 4 to position an order and discover the delivery time.
Durian fever: Chinese Wang Yi raves about Malaysian Musang King cheesecake
Durian fever: Chinese Wang Yi raves about Malaysian Musang King cheesecake
The seller wrote down her phone number and said he would contact a member of the shopper service team, Zaobao said.
Shortly thereafter, Xu received a call from a person who instructed her to put in a mobile app and supply her personal information to acquire a membership, Zaobao claims.
She was then asked to download a password generator token from her bank and enter her bank details into the app, which she did on May 6.
According to local media Mothership, the person also offered to throw in just a few durians totally free.
Xu didn’t realize that the fake seller had stolen roughly $37,400 from her checking account. She realized she had been scammed when she tried to pay for the food a day later, on May 7.
On May 6, she discovered “two unauthorized account transfers,” one value $20,695 and the opposite value $16,700 on Zaobao.
“These are my life savings,” Xu told Zaobao. Zaobao reported that she only had $5 left in her checking account.
Local police confirmed to Zaobao that they’re aware of the case and are investigating it.
Singapore police didn’t immediately reply to Insider’s request for comment.
