The Police would like to alert members of the public to the re-emergence of a variant of scams involving the impersonation of China. Since January 2022, at least 231 victims have fallen prey to such scams, with losses amounting to at least $25 million.
Victims would receive robotic phone calls allegedly from the Ministry of Health. When they heeded the instructions on the call to make further contact, the call would be directed to scammers claiming to be a police officer from China. The scammer would inform the victims that they were being investigated for money laundering and other offences. The scammer would tell the victims that there could be a misuse of their identities, which led to the victim being involved in the activities of a transnational crime ring. Thereafter, the scammer would request for the victims’ particulars or online banking credentials, to facilitate money transfers overseas as part of the investigation into the alleged offence committed, on the pretence of helping the victims clear their names. In some cases, victims were instructed to open local bank accounts to carry out money transfers. Victims would only discover that they had been scammed when they did not receive the money transferred for the purpose of investigation or when there were unauthorised transactions made from their bank accounts.
The Police would like to emphasise that overseas law enforcement agencies have no jurisdiction to conduct operations in Singapore, arrest anyone or ask members of the public to help with any form of investigations, without the approval of the Singapore Government.
The Police would also like to advise members of the public to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls claiming to be from overseas law enforcement agencies:
- Beware of calls with the “+” prefix which originate overseas;
- Ignore such calls and the caller’s instructions;
- Never share your personal information, bank account 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. Do not make any transfers;
- 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
10 June 2022 @ 10:45 PM