Between October 2017 and July 2018, the Police have received at least 84 reports on lucky draw scam. The total amount cheated was about $122,000, where the highest amount cheated was about $34,400.
The scammers would typically contact the victims with the username “World Winner” via an instant messaging application, called IMO and would inform them that they had won some money in a lucky draw. The victims were then told that they would need to transfer money or purchase iTunes gift cards before they could receive their winnings.
In one of the cases, the scammer who claimed to be an officer from the Singapore Police Force had told the victim that his bank account was involved in an illegal transaction and he had to provide his debit/credit card details such as the CVV number for investigation purposes. After providing the details to the caller, the victim received a text message purportedly sent by the Singapore Police Force, informing him that he would be rewarded with a sum of money. The victim then discovered that unauthorised transactions were subsequently made from his bank account.
The Police would like to advise members of the public to be wary if you receive such messages, especially if you have not participated in any lucky draw. Neither the Police nor other government agencies would request for personal details or transfer of money over the phone. Do not give out your personal information, credit/debit card details and bank account details to unknown individuals. Ignore any instructions provided by the caller/message sender to make payments by remitting money or purchasing iTunes gift cards. Winning a lucky draw should not require any payments to be made to claim the prize.
If you wish to provide 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. For urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
To seek scam-related advice, you may call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 or go to www.scamalert.sg. Help spread the word and share this advisory with your family and friends to prevent them from being the next victim of scam.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
12 September 2018 @ 10:30 AM