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 organises 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 and, 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 of dollars. The supplier wanted a 20 per cent 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 who 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 organised 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 organisers peddling fake branded goods, switching items with lower-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 organisers need to be careful. Unlike the infamous Nigerian scam, an e-mail that promises the recipient untold riches, the pitfalls of sprees are unknown to many people.
He said spree organisers - and those who buy 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 an elaborate set-up aimed at cheating spree organisers like herself.
The growing popularity of sprees, she said, means 'these scammers don't mind spending time and effort' to set a trap.
The incident has prompted her to be more vigilant in future, and she hoped others hearing her tale would do the same.
How not to get conned
BEFORE handing over their money, spree fans should:
Get the company's contact information;
Review the firm's history;
Check its credit rating and other financial documents; and
Stay in contact with the company until the goods are delivered and keep records of all correspondence.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Sep 5, 2008.
