How do fraudsters profit from bulk order scams?

A spate of bulk order scam cases has been reported in the past two weeks.

- David Sun Crime Correspondent

The first case that made headlines involved a hawker stall in Tiong Bahru Market that received an order for 150 packets of briyani.

The person who made the order did not collect it on Sept 9 as arranged, and initially the incident was thought to be a prank.

Since then, there have been at least six cases involving other local businesses, such as eateries and a florist.

It is now believed that a syndicate is behind the scams, with three people arrested over their suspected involvement.

The trio are believed to have been mules who provided their bank accounts and phone lines to the syndicate.

Q What is a bulk order scam?

A The recent cases of bulk order scams appear to be targeted at local businesses.

They are not pranks, but elaborate schemes to cheat the businesses of their money.

Scammers would call a business using a local number they obtained from a mule, and place a large order to be fulfilled within a short period.

The order would be large enough to require significant effort and resources to prepare, but not too large that the business would have to reject it outright.

The scammer would claim the payment would be made once the order is collected.

If the business operator asks for a down payment, the scammer would make excuses or false promises that it will be made closer to the collection time.