The Police have received at least 7 reports on a new type of scam operating on social media platforms between September and November 2016. At least S$14,600 have been cheated from the victims, aged between 44 and 67.
In this scam, the victims were informed by their Facebook 'friends' that they saw the victims’ names in the list of winners on certain Facebook pages such as “FB Social Promotion International” and “Home Care Cash Grant” and were told to visit these pages to collect their winnings. When they visited the Facebook pages, the victims were asked to provide their personal details and were requested to remit monies to overseas parties as insurance or delivery fees before the winnings can be claimed.
The Facebook ‘friends' are imposters. The scammers have used hacked or spoofed Facebook accounts of the victims’ friends to contact them.
The Police advise members of public to take precautions when they act on messages received through social media platforms:
- Be wary of messages informing that you have won a prize, especially if you did not enter any lucky draw or contest.
- Ignore requests to make up-front payments to claim a prize. Winning a lucky draw or contest should not require advance payment.
- Check that the person you are communicating with online is really the person you know. An imposter can hack or spoof an account and take up a false identity.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
02 December 2016 @ 9:50 AM