Singapore: Issued CASE and CCCS advisory on online consumer transactions

On 2 September 2021, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) and the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) issued an advisory on online consumer transactions. The advisory is intended to alert consumers about practices used to mislead consumers into purchasing products. The advisory is the result of 52 complaints received related to transactions with overseas online retailers where consumers were misled into making purchases. CASE and CCCS advise adopting certain precautions in order to minimise the risk of falling prey to some of these tactics. The commonly used tactics include false or misleading information on business location, false or misleading claims about the product sold, seemingly large discounts, and false contact information for consumer refunds and redress. CASE and CCCS advise consumers to look out for inconsistent claims about the retailer's business premises, to research the claims made by the retailer about accreditation/awards received by the product sold, to check whether any claims made by the retailer about itself or its product can be separately verified, and to check and understand the terms and conditions, and return/refund policy listed on the retailer's website or advertisement. Consumers should further only make purchases through e-commerce websites that are verified, safe and secure, use escrow payment methods, and check the products as soon as they are delivered.