Victims of government official impersonation scams in Singapore have lost at least $6.7 million in September alone, with at least 100 cases reported, said the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a joint statement.
The authorities explain how the scam works:
“In this variant, the victim would first receive an unsolicited call from a scammer impersonating a bank officer, typically from DBS, OCBC, UOB or Standard Chartered Bank. The scammer would inform the victim that a credit card has been issued under the victim’s name, or that there were suspicious or fraudulent transactions detected in the victim’s bank account, and would ask the victim to confirm these financial transactions.
“When the victim denies knowledge of such transactions, the scammer would transfer the call to a second scammer who would impersonate a government official (from SPF or MAS). These calls could, at times be in the form of video calls, with the scammers dressed as SPF/MAS officers with fake badges, against a backdrop with the agency’s logo. The communication between the second scammer and the victim may subsequently be moved to messaging applications such as WhatsApp. In some instances, the scammers may provide fake warrant cards or fake official documents to lend credence to their deceit. The scammers would accuse the victim of being involved in criminal activities such as money laundering and ask the victim to transfer monies to “safety accounts” designated by the government to assist in investigations.
“Victims would only realise that they had been scammed when the scammers become uncontactable or when they seek verification of the status of their cases with the banks or SPF.”
Find out more about anti-scam precautionary measures that you can take.
