The Police would like to remind members of the public to remain vigilant to impersonation scams featuring Chinese companies. Since 28 August 2024, at least 443 cases were reported, with total losses amounting to at least S$9.6 million.
In this scam variant, victims would receive unsolicited phone calls from a scammer impersonating staff of Chinese companies such as Tencent, WeChat or UnionPay. The scammer would typically inform victims that a subscription which they had previously signed up for (e.g. insurance coverage, WeChat anti-harassment application, WeChat subscription), is about to expire.
The scammer would then tell the victims that the fees would be automatically deducted from their bank accounts linked to the platform unless the victims cancelled the subscriptions. To do so, victims would have to verify their identities and bank accounts, by providing their personal information and making monetary transfers to various bank accounts. The victims were assured that their monies would be refunded upon successful verification. In some of the cases, the scammer would guide the victim through WhatsApp’s screen sharing function to increase the bank transaction limit and perform the bank transfers. Unbeknown to the victims, a WhatsApp screen sharing function allows scammers to view their banking ID, password and OTP. Members of public should be wary of sharing the screen of their devices with anyone that they do not know.
In some of the cases, the scammer would increase their credibility or pressure the victims by doing any of the following:
- Redirecting victims to speak with another scammer impersonating as a customer service staff via WhatsApp or a video conferencing application.
- Redirecting victims to a phishing website with live customer service chat function. In some of the cases, the phishing website was designed to look like UnionPay’s website.
- Showing victims a fake customer service staff’s employment pass from the purported company.
- Showing victims fake documents of their alleged subscriptions, with the victims’ personal information.
- Sending email purportedly from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) that their financial accounts do not match the records maintained by MAS.
- Informing victims that their WeChat accounts had been frozen.
Most victims would only realise that they had been scammed after making multiple monetary transfers without receiving the promised refunds.
The Police would like to advise members of the public not to send money to anyone they do not know or have not met in person before; not to disclose their personal information, bank/card details and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to anyone; and not to share their phone or other screens with anyone they do not know. MAS would also like to inform members of the public that MAS does not maintain records of individual’s financial/banking accounts.
The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures to avoid falling for scams:
ADD – Add the ScamShield app and set security features (e.g. set up transaction limits for internet banking transactions, enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Multifactor Authentication for banks and e-wallets).
CHECK – for scam signs with official sources such as the ScamShield helpline (1799). You can also check the legitimacy of suspicious messages, phone numbers and website links via the ScamShield app or visit the ScamShield website at www.scamshield.gov.sg. Check with the merchant listed in the advertisement/post to ensure that the post is reputable and legitimate.
TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.
If you have any information relating to such crimes or are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness. 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.scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield Helpline at 1799. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!
Annex A
Screenshots
Screenshot of chatlog between scammer and victim▼
Screenshot of scammer claiming to be a WeChat Insurance Staff▼
Screenshot of Fake UnionPay documentation▼
Screenshot of email purportedly sent from MAS▼
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
11 November 2024 @ 3:20 PM