The Police would like to alert members of the public to a resurgence of a variant of the Government Official Impersonation scams, where scammers impersonated police officers from the People’s Republic of China or Singapore Police Force to convince victims to transfer their monies to third party bank accounts. Since October 2022, there were at least 51 victims with total losses amounting to at least $3.3 million. The largest sum lost by a single victim was at least $700,000.
The scam occurs in the following way:
- Members of the public would receive calls from purported bank officers (first scammer) who would allege that the victim’s bank accounts had transaction issues or was involved in money laundering. The victim would then be transferred to a “Police Officer” (second scammer) on the pretext of assisting the victim.
- In most cases, the second scammer would identify himself or herself by sending an image of the SPF warrant card over online communications platforms. The second scammer would also inform the victim that he/she was under investigation and was required to contact the Investigation Officer (third scammer) at a given contact number. In some cases, to further their tale, the second scammer may also send a letter with the Singapore Police Force letterhead requesting for the victim’s assistance for financial inspection and verification of funds.
- Upon contacting the “Investigation Officer” (third scammer), the victim would be instructed to provide personal particulars such as photos of their identification cards or bank account details. The victim would then be instructed to transfer monies into a “safe account” for investigation purposes.
- Victims would realise that they had been scammed when they contacted their bank or the Police via the official avenues to check on their cases.
The public is advised to take the following precautions when they are asked to transfer funds to third party accounts for the purpose of criminal investigations:
- Ignore the request. Police Officers from the Singapore Police Force will never (i) ask for the control of your bank accounts, monies or passwords; (ii) require you to transfer your monies to another account or send images of your NRIC over the phone; (iii) identify themselves by sending an image of the SPF warrant card over online communications platforms (iv) disclose your financial information (e.g. like your bank account balance) in a letter and tell you that police are monitoring it;
- If you receive any documents with the Police letterhead, please contact the department which has sent the documents to verify its authenticity;
- Refrain from giving out personal information and bank details to callers over the phone. Personal information and bank details such as internet bank account usernames and passwords, or One-Time Password (OTP) codes from tokens, are useful to criminals. Do not make any fund transfer(s) on requests from persons you have never met in person;
- Ignore requests from public officials who make calls using contact numbers that begin with the +65 prefix. Calls from police officers from the Singapore Police Force will never have the +65 prefix;
- Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. Do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively; and
- If in doubt, call ‘999’ or approach a police office at the Neighbourhood Police Centre near you.
If you have information related to such cases, 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 scam-related advice, please call the National Crime Prevention Council’s Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688 or visit www.scamalert.sg. 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.
Annex A
Photos of Fake Singapore Police Force Warrant Card
Police Officers from the Singapore Police Force will never identify themselves by sending an image of the SPF warrant card over online communications platforms
Photos of Fake Singapore Police Letter
Police Officers from the Singapore Police Force will never disclose your financial information (e.g. like your bank account balance) in a letter and tell you that police are monitoring it
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
11 November 2022 @ 4:30 PM