The Police would like to alert members of the public of a new variant of Internet love scams, where the victims were purportedly asked to assist in transferring funds from fake bank websites.
In these cases, the scammers would befriend the victims on social media platforms. Thereafter, scammers would provide the victims with a fake bank website and login credentials and request the victims’ assistance to transfer funds. After logging into the fake banking websites with these login credentials, the victims discovered that they could not make any transfers from the account. The victims would then be convinced to pay administrative charges in order to complete the fund transfers, or transfer the funds required by the scammers from their own accounts instead. Victims eventually realised that they were scammed when the scammers became uncontactable, or were asked by the scammers to transfer funds multiple times.
Police would like to advise the members of public to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- Exercise caution when befriending strangers online.
- Never send money to people whom you do not know or have not met in person before.
- Do not click on suspicious URL links provided. When in doubt, always verify the authenticity of the information with the official website or alternative sources.
- Never share your bank account login credentials with anyone. Your personal bank account is for your own usage and you are responsible for all transactions made through your bank account.
If you have information related to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. Please dial ‘999’ if you require urgent Police assistance.
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
21 March 2021 @ 6:40 PM