The Police would like to remind members of the public to remain vigilant against Government Officials Impersonation Scams. A victim of this scam has suffered losses of at least S$199,000 in October 2022.
In this latest variant, victims would receive unsolicited phone calls with a “+65” prefix allegedly from a bank. Speaking in English, the scammers would identify themselves as a bank staff and tell the victims that there were some financial transactions made on their cards. When the victims reply that they did not make such transactions, the scammers would tell the victims that the call would be transferred to a police officer for investigation. Thereafter, the scammers would transfer the call to another scammer. Speaking in English, the next scammer would identify themselves as a police officer. The scammers would use the name of a real police officer and even advise the victims to call the police hotlines to verify their identities. After gaining the trust of the victims, the scammers would tell the victims that this is a highly confidential investigation and that they are not to communicate the investigations to anyone else. The scammers would then request the victims to do the following:
- Provide their personal information and bank accounts’ information; and
- Transfer money from their bank accounts to other bank accounts
Victims would only discover that they had been scammed when they realised that there were unauthorised transactions made from their bank accounts, or when they did not get back the money that they had transferred for the purpose of investigations.
The Police would like to emphasise that we do not ask members of the public to provide their bank accounts’ information and passwords or transfer money to any bank accounts.
The Police would also like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- Beware of calls with the “+” prefix which originate from overseas;
- Ignore such calls and the callers’ instructions;
- Never share your Singpass or bank account’s login details and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) with anyone;
- No government agency will instruct payment through undocumented media like a telephone call or social messaging platforms (WeChat or Facebook), or ask you for personal banking information such as your Internet banking passwords;
- Always verify the authenticity of the information with the official website or sources;
- Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. You may be overwhelmed by emotion and may err in your judgment. Do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively; and
- Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.
If you have any information related to such crimes, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Join the ‘Spot the Signs. Stop the Crimes’ campaign at www.scamalert.sg/fight by signing up as an advocate to receive up-to-date messages and share them with your family and friends. Together, we can help stop scams and prevent our loved ones from becoming the next victim.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
07 October 2022 @ 7:45 PM