Scammers create fake Takashimaya Facebook page with ad offering Chanel bag for $138
Scammers created a fake Facebook page of Takashimaya Shopping Centre and used it to run a fraudulent advertisement involving a heavily discounted Chanel bag.
The Facebook ad, which is still running, claims that Takashimaya has launched an online event with luxury brand Chanel to thank customers for their support.
The "collaboration" involves a Chanel 22 handbag being sold at a 99 per cent discount for $138. The ad states: "The discount is strong, but the time is limited, first come, first served, there are 458 products in this event."
The Chanel 22 handbag retails for $8,710 on Chanel's official website.
Clicking on the fake ad leads to the site pedro.ltd, which has a mix of English and Chinese text, and a range of products listed for sale.
Many of the 1,100 reactions and comments on the post appear to be from bots or fake accounts, signalling that the scammers may have bought the engagement to make the ad appear more legitimate.
The fake Takashimaya Facebook page, which had four likes and four followers as at Thursday evening, has three posts that scammers had copied from the department store's legitimate Facebook page. It also includes Takashimaya's actual information counter telephone number and e-mail address for general inquiries.
Takashimaya's website cautioned customers to beware of and block any form of advertising or posts from such unauthorised sites.
"We wish to alert everyone that there are websites and social media accounts impersonating us by wrongfully using the Takashimaya logo and name, and that attempts at consumer fraud may have been made," it said.
The retailer listed its official websites and social media accounts, and told customers that it does not conduct business through any other platform.
"Any correspondence from other avenues seeking to obtain personal information, account login details or engage in any form of transaction is a hoax," it added.
"We have reported these account and sites to the relevant authorities and will continue to monitor the situation."
The Straits Times has contacted Takashimaya and the police for more information.
Impersonation scams are not uncommon in Singapore.
Between January and March, at least 305 people have lost about $1.7 million to scammers pretending to be property agents. These scammers put up online property listings on various advertisement websites, including Facebook and Carousell, to entice victims into starting a conversation with them.
When victims inquire about viewing the property, the scammers will claim that there is too much demand, before pressuring them into making rental deposits into a local bank account to secure the units.