Between January and September 2019, the Police received at least 45 reports of Facebook impersonation scams, with at least S$1.2 million cheated. Victims of these scams tend to be elderly persons aged 60 years and above, likely because they are not aware that Facebook accounts could be hacked or spoofed, and that they tend to be more trusting.
In such cases, the victims were contacted by scammers via compromised Facebook accounts belonging to their family and friends and were introduced to various types of grants. The victims were then informed to provide their personal details, and transfer money to bank accounts or remit funds overseas in order to receive the grant. The victims eventually realised that they were cheated after verifying with their family and friends.
Members of the public are advised to adopt the following crime prevention measures:
- Don’t be impulsive - Beware of unusual requests received on social media platforms or text messages, even if they were sent by your social media contacts;
- Don’t believe - Be wary of get-rich-quick offers that ask you to transfer money in return for a greater fortune. If in doubt, verify the authenticity of the request or text message by contacting your friend, but do not do so through the social media platform as the account might have been taken over by scammers;
- Don’t give - Do not transfer money or give out your personal information, bank account or credit/debit card details, and One-Time Password (OTP) to anyone, including family and friends.
If you wish to provide any information related to such scams, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. If you require 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. Join the ‘let’s fight scams’ 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 of scam.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
25 November 2019 @ 11:30 AM