She thought it was a way to earn a quick buck - getting paid just to reply to texts.

But less than 12 hours later, she ended up the victim of an elaborate Internet scam.

Instead of earning the $150 to $200 she was promised for the job, Miss Lin Siew Khim, 21, was left saddled with a $1,100 phone bill.

She is one of more than 20 people - most of them students - who fell prey to a 19-year-old con man.

He was arrested on Monday and will be charged today with cheating.

Two weeks ago, Miss Lin saw an advertisement on Carousell, a local online marketplace, for two days of work. All that was needed was a Singtel mobile phone line with monthly billing.

Miss Lin was told she just had to acknowledge text messages from GX Credits, an online store specialising in gaming credits, which could be used in online games like Maple Story, League of Legends, and on popular gaming platform, Steam.

Shortly after she agreed, she received a text message from GX Credits asking to confirm if she was buying more than $100 worth of credits.

She replied yes, and was sent another text message with a security code that was to be activated on the gaming website.

"The guy (who put up the job listing) said I just had to take a screenshot and send it to him, which I did," Miss Lin told The New Paper yesterday.

This went on 11 more times, resulting in a total of $1,100 worth of gaming credits.

She said: "As I was replying to these messages, I kept having a bad feeling that I could be cheated, because it's happened to me before on Carousell, but I didn't think too much about it."

The next day, a Singtel representative called and told her she had chalked up a $1,100 mobile phone bill.

"I was shocked because the man who offered me the job told me I would be reimbursed and the credits would be erased," she said.

DELETED

When she called him to sort out the situation, his mobile phone was off and he could not be reached. His online accounts had been deleted.

Miss Lin made a police report that afternoon.

She also reported the account to Carousell, which suspended it. But the con man quickly set up another account.

"Whenever I saw a similar ad on Carousell, I would report it so that he couldn't go round cheating other people," Miss Lin said.

She said she reported the scammer at least twice.

Two other victims contacted her - one of whom was a 15-year-old girl.

"I thought to myself, at least I can still try to work and pay off my debts. But what about the young girl?" Miss Lin said.

Another victim, who wanted to be known only as Mr Wong, said he saw the job advertisement on a Facebook page on Oct 31.

He had previously found work on the page, serving at a banquet and working as an usher, so he believed the ad was legitimate.

Mr Wong was promised $200 for his work. But after spending $600 on credits, the man behind the post could not be contacted.

Mr Wong also made a police report.

In a news release yesterday, the police said at least 25 people had made reports of a similar nature, falling victim to elaborate "job scams" involving GX Credits.

After the victims provided their mobile phone numbers and sent screenshots of the game codes, the scammer would disappear. These credits were then sold online.

Police estimate the man has cheated people of some $14,000.

Working with the Commercial Affairs Department and the Technology Crime Investigation Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department, police managed to track down the suspect.

He was arrested at about 2pm on Monday at Kay Siang Road, just off Dempsey Road. Several mobile phones, SIM cards, bank tokens and cash amounting to $7,500 were seized.

He will be charged with cheating in court today.

Said Assistant Commissioner of Police Lian Ghim Hua, Commander of Ang Mo Kio Division: "Members of the public are advised to be wary of online advertisements where deals might appear to be too good to be true. Personal information also should not be offered to strangers."

Miss Lin, who is now more careful with her online dealings, said: "When you think something doesn't sound right, talk to your parents. Or if you're unsure, do what I'm doing now and get a job through a (placement) agency."

I thought to myself, at least I can still try to work and pay off my debts. But what about the young girl?

- Miss Lin on a 15-year-old victim of the same scam.