Source: Straits Times, Friday, September 5, 2008 by Chua Hian Hou

Fans of Web buying sprees, beware

Recent scam involving posh strollers highlights glowing danger online

Earlier this year, Shirley received a tip about an Indonesian wholesaler offering high-end baby strollers at cut-rate prices. She thought she had hit the jackpot.

A mother herself, Shirley organizes Web buying sprees, where consumers combine their purchases in order to get bulk discounts from online merchants.

She bought three strollers as a litmus test, satisfied that everything was above board, cobbled together 161 orders worth more than $100,000.

But a pushy salesman and a seemingly unlimited stock of high-end strollers, some of which cost up to $2,000 in stores in Singapore, made her suspicious.

She discovered that the address provided by the supplier was fake, and found out there were entire warehouses peddling counterfeit strollers like the ones she was on the verge of buying.

“I was lucky I didn’t go through with it, or I would have lost thousands if dollars. The supplier wanted a 20 percent deposit,” said Shirley, who declined to reveal her last name because she also holds a full-time job.

 Her situation is not unique. There is a growing legion of scammers woe are targeting fans of online sprees which have become increasingly popular with Singapore’s tech-savvy consumers.

In 2006, a 24-year-old man who organized a spree for car products ran off with thousands of dollars of buyers’ money. He was arrested, but subsequently jumped bail.

There have been reports of other unscrupulous spree organizers peddling fake branded goods, switching items with low quality products, and running away with their buyers’ money.

Mr Darric Hor, general manager of internet security firm Symantec, said Web sprees are a relatively new phenomenon, and organizers need to be careful.  Unlike the infamous Nigerian scam, an email that promises the recipient untold riches, the pitfalls of sprees are unknown to many people.

He said spree organizer – and those who pay from them – have to weigh carefully whom to trust. “Always be wary of offers that appear too good to be true.”

Shirley has since cancelled her spree and is refunding the buyers. Looking back, she believes it was a elaborate setup aimed at cheating spree organisers like herself.

The growing popularity if sprees, she said, means “these scammers don’t mind spending time and effort” to set up a trap.

The incident has prompted her to be more vigilant in future, and she hoped others hearing her tale would do the same.

“Be wary of offers that appear too good to be true.”

Mr Darric Hor, general manager of Internet security company Symantec