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Social media post claiming to help buy Apple products at ’employee prices’ suspected to be money laundering scheme

A new form of suspected money laundering has surfaced in Singapore involving the sale of Apple products at so-called “employee prices” on social media.

According to Shin Min Daily News (SMDN), Mr Zhou (name transliterated from Chinese) arrived in Singapore on 29 June and needed a laptop for work. While browsing the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, the 40-year-old financial professional from Hong Kong came across a post offering discounted Apple products.

The post was by a user calling himself the “Good Product Recommender”, who claimed he had purchased a MacBook at a 15% discount via an Apple employee internal purchase. He offered to introduce “employees” who could make similar purchases on behalf of others.

Source: Shin Min Daily News

Buyer communicated via WeChat & was offered 30% discount on Apple MacBook Air

Mr Zhou was then directed to WeChat, where he was offered a MacBook Air — worth nearly S$2,000 — for just S$1,400.

However, the seller insisted that the order be paid using a special “employee card” and that Mr Zhou could reimburse the amount later through PayNow or Alipay. The seller even claimed they could front the payment first.

“He provided me with the credit card number, expiry date, and the CVV,” Mr Zhou told SMDN. “There was no cardholder name, but I assumed it was a company card with a spending limit.”

“Since I was paying only after collecting the laptop, I didn’t think too much about it.”

Source: Shin Min Daily News

Receipt showed full price, Alipay warned of high-risk transaction

On 4 July, Mr Zhou went to the Apple Store along Orchard Road to collect his MacBook.

That’s when red flags started appearing.

He noticed the purchase receipt reflected the full retail price and not the discounted “employee price” he had been promised. Soon after, the seller sent him a QR code to transfer payment via Alipay, but the system immediately flagged the transaction as “high-risk”.

When Mr Zhou enquired about the prompt, the seller allegedly pressured him to make the payment, even suggesting instalments. However, they refused to provide the recipient’s name and asked Mr Zhou in return if he was trying to default on the payment.

Source: jaouad.K on Canva. For illustration purposes only.

Payment account for Apple product linked to Fujian, China

Mr Zhou then checked the registration details of the Alipay account, which showed it was based in Fujian, China.

That’s when it clicked for him.

“I then realised he might have provided me with stolen credit card information for placing orders,” he said.

Worried he might unknowingly be part of a scam or laundering scheme, Mr Zhou went to the police station that evening and handed the laptop over for investigation.

The Singapore Police Force told MS News that they confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.

Also read: Police can now restrict bank accounts of likely scam victims for up to 30 days

Police can now restrict bank accounts of likely scam victims for up to 30 days

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