SINGAPORE: When a 15-year-old girl saw a Roblox gift card being sold on Carousell for S$100 last October, she thought it was a good deal. It would cost her S$112 from the gaming platform’s official website.
Melody (not her real name), who was playing the game Murder Mystery on the platform, wanted to use the in-game credits to buy weapons to level-up her character.
However, after the Secondary 3 student made payment on Carousell using PayLah!, the seller did not deliver the gift card and deleted the account.
Relating this anecdote about her client, Lauren Yeo, principal counsellor of Restart Counselling for Wellness, said the incident had emotionally impacted the girl and her mother.
She said the mother was upset that Melody did not inform her and that the hongbao money she deposited in her daughter’s account had been used without her permission.
Three counsellors told The Straits Times that they have seen an increase in the number of clients below the age of 16 seeking help after encountering scams.
Chong Ee Jay, a cyber-wellness expert at Focus on the Family Singapore, said that he saw 12 such cases in 2021, up from seven in 2020.
These children were counselling clients or had sought help with Chong after workshops he conducted at schools.
Chua Sze Siong, chief therapist at counselling service Mindful Bear, said the service assisted five children who fell victim to scams in 2021,…
