By Jeanette Tan | SingaporeScene
UPDATE
Police have arrested a woman in connection with an alleged online scam offering cheap hotel stay packages at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and tickets to Universal Studios Singapore (USS), according to media reports.
At least 130 people might have been cheated of more than $95,000 in the scam.
A police spokesperson said a woman in her early 30s had been arrested and that investigations are ongoing.
A user calling herself 'AzilCyan' first advertised the hotel and ticket deals on a Singapore Motherhood forum on 6 April under the Bulk Purchase section.
AzilCyan now claims that she had herself been deceived by her 'business partner', and that she is unable to provide refunds to her affected customers, reported The Straits Times.
Ms Sharifah Hanim Syed Idros, her alleged business partner, is believed to be out on bail.
AzilCyan had filed a police report against Sharifah and had reportedly alerted customers on Wednesday of the arrest.
AzilCyan offered RWS hotel stays combined with USS tickets for prices as low as $400, which would give a two-day, one-night stay at either Hotel Michael, Festive Hotel or the Hard Rock Hotel. A second package was offered for two nights, and with 8 USS tickets, for $710.
Under the arrangement, users transferred money into AzilCyan's personal savings account, and her business partner, known as Sharifah, would make the bookings with the respective hotels through her travel agency because she had cheaper rates for the rooms, being a frequent RWS customer.
These deals had been fully honoured until last week, when forum users who transferred money in advance and had their bookings confirmed went to RWS and discovered that their rooms had not been paid for.
After correspondence with AzilCyan, they received instructions to pay for the rooms upfront first, and wait for a full refund from her or Sharifah, whom she promised would hand the refund to the customer in person at the hotel.
Many users posted complaints on the forum that the refund process was troublesome and that they had to wait and make many calls before receiving their money, paid over and above their initial transferred sum, back, if at all.
Some users who shared their experiences on the forum said that they had to pay full rates for their hotel stays as well as for their USS tickets, and were still waiting on refunds from AzilCyan and Sharifah. Others who had not redeemed their packages yet started asking for refunds and threatened to file police reports.
Another user, Cutiebb99, said that she had checked with hotel staff and found out that the sellers had not been paying for the rooms, and that the account that Sharifah's agency had with the hotels had been cancelled.
Up til Sunday afternoon, however, AzilCyan insisted that all problems had been solved, reporting that Sharifah was filing a police report against her own company over a cheque that did not clear over the weekend, affecting buyers who redeemed their packages over recent days.
Users who had cancelled and were waiting for refunds were promised they would receive what they had paid by the afternoon of Friday, 17 June, but on Monday night, user ningsterus posted an update that AzilCyan had texted her to tell her that Sharifah was not contactable, her company was under police investigation and that she herself had already forked out $16,000 from her own pocket.
According to a spreadsheet titled 'Affected Mummies' that was still being updated, as of noon on Wednesday, 130 people claimed to have paid various amounts totalling $95,000 for the packages, and that 34 have filed individual police reports.
The administrators of Singapore Motherhood have also filed a report. Police have confirmed these reports, and investigations into the matter have started.
When contacted, RWS spokesperson Robin Goh told ST that the two women were not authorised travel agents it had worked with before.
"We take a serious view of such transactional breaches," he said.
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Police have arrested a woman in connection with an alleged online scam offering cheap hotel stay packages at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and tickets to Universal Studios Singapore (USS), according to media reports.
At least 130 people might have been cheated of more than $95,000 in the scam.
A police spokesperson said a woman in her early 30s had been arrested and that investigations are ongoing.
A user calling herself 'AzilCyan' first advertised the hotel and ticket deals on a Singapore Motherhood forum on 6 April under the Bulk Purchase section.
AzilCyan now claims that she had herself been deceived by her 'business partner', and that she is unable to provide refunds to her affected customers, reported The Straits Times.
Ms Sharifah Hanim Syed Idros, her alleged business partner, is believed to be out on bail.
AzilCyan had filed a police report against Sharifah and had reportedly alerted customers on Wednesday of the arrest.
AzilCyan offered RWS hotel stays combined with USS tickets for prices as low as $400, which would give a two-day, one-night stay at either Hotel Michael, Festive Hotel or the Hard Rock Hotel. A second package was offered for two nights, and with 8 USS tickets, for $710.
Under the arrangement, users transferred money into AzilCyan's personal savings account, and her business partner, known as Sharifah, would make the bookings with the respective hotels through her travel agency because she had cheaper rates for the rooms, being a frequent RWS customer.
These deals had been fully honoured until last week, when forum users who transferred money in advance and had their bookings confirmed went to RWS and discovered that their rooms had not been paid for.
After correspondence with AzilCyan, they received instructions to pay for the rooms upfront first, and wait for a full refund from her or Sharifah, whom she promised would hand the refund to the customer in person at the hotel.
Many users posted complaints on the forum that the refund process was troublesome and that they had to wait and make many calls before receiving their money, paid over and above their initial transferred sum, back, if at all.
Some users who shared their experiences on the forum said that they had to pay full rates for their hotel stays as well as for their USS tickets, and were still waiting on refunds from AzilCyan and Sharifah. Others who had not redeemed their packages yet started asking for refunds and threatened to file police reports.
Another user, Cutiebb99, said that she had checked with hotel staff and found out that the sellers had not been paying for the rooms, and that the account that Sharifah's agency had with the hotels had been cancelled.
Up til Sunday afternoon, however, AzilCyan insisted that all problems had been solved, reporting that Sharifah was filing a police report against her own company over a cheque that did not clear over the weekend, affecting buyers who redeemed their packages over recent days.
Users who had cancelled and were waiting for refunds were promised they would receive what they had paid by the afternoon of Friday, 17 June, but on Monday night, user ningsterus posted an update that AzilCyan had texted her to tell her that Sharifah was not contactable, her company was under police investigation and that she herself had already forked out $16,000 from her own pocket.
According to a spreadsheet titled 'Affected Mummies' that was still being updated, as of noon on Wednesday, 130 people claimed to have paid various amounts totalling $95,000 for the packages, and that 34 have filed individual police reports.
The administrators of Singapore Motherhood have also filed a report. Police have confirmed these reports, and investigations into the matter have started.
When contacted, RWS spokesperson Robin Goh told ST that the two women were not authorised travel agents it had worked with before.
"We take a serious view of such transactional breaches," he said.
