[Sethia Soliman]

SDC member loses over $6000 to a 'Prezzee' scam - 'Nothing was returned.'​

Cruel, heartless, and unforgivable. These are the first few things that popped into my head when I read this beloved SDC member's email.

Although there's always a new scam story to read in the forum-and maybe a few of you are starting to get tired of the constant warnings-things start feeling a bit more real when someone close to you suffers the same fate.

The grim truth is that it can happen to anyone. So, if there's an opportunity to spread awareness to prevent another unsuspecting member from getting scammed, we'll take it.

The SDC member, who asked me to keep his identity hidden, said that it all started when he investigated a bill sent to him by a company named 'Prezzee'.

'I've never dealt with them before, so I phoned and asked what was happening. That was my downfall as I was switched over to a guy with a strong Indian accent.'

'He asked me a few details about refunding my money. Then, he was able to hack my computer and phone before extracting more than $6000.'

Beware of emails and calls from strangers. Source: The Logical​

The member immediately reached out to their bank for help but to no avail. The stolen money had already been transferred overseas.

'The bank only helped me set up a one-time password or code which shows on my phone only. This might help in preventing further scams.' the member continued.

'They stole the savings I made from my pension over the previous 12 months, which I was planning to use for a trip to the Philippines. As I had already paid for the airfares and medical insurance, which were non-refundable, I was left with no choice but to borrow sufficient money to pay for my travels, accommodation costs, etc.'

'I reported this to my bank and to Scam Alert but nothing was returned.'

'Prezzee looks genuine and seems to be targeting only a few people as their advertisement states users should be alert for scammers.'

Please be careful, everyone! If you'd like to share a similar experience, feel free to post it in the Scam Watch forum. You may also opt to read our e-Book on Cyber Safety here.