$6.7m lost in a month to scammers posing as officials from gov't agencies, financial institutions
At least $6.7 million has been lost in over 80 reported government official impersonation scams since June.
Called by scammers impersonating officials from banks such as DBS, financial institutions or government agencies, victims were made to believe they had conducted banking or financial transactions or had personal information like phone numbers found to be registered in fraudulent activities.
Scammers would also claim victims had outstanding premiums associated with new or expiring insurance policies.
But when victims denied the scammers' claims, another scammer posing as a government official would accuse victims of being involved in criminal activities like money laundering.
Victims would then be asked to withdraw money, purchase gold bars or declare valuables like luxury goods and give them to unknown people for investigation purposes. In some cases, victims were instructed to place the valuables in discreet locations for someone else to collect.
Only after the scammers became uncontactable would victims realise they had been scammed, or when they approached the police for verification.
The police said they would like to remind members of the public to never give money or other valuables to any unknown or unverified people, and to never place them at physical locations to facilitate collection.
Government officials will never ask members of the public to do the following over a phone call:
- Ask you to transfer money.
- Ask you to disclose banking log-in details.
- Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores.
- Transfer your call to police.
Members of the public are also encouraged to adopt the following precautionary
measures:
- Add the ScamShield app to block calls and filter SMSes. Set transaction limits that are adequate for daily expenses, and lower transaction notification thresholds. Alert the bank immediately of any suspicious activity in your bank account. Activate the money lock feature of your bank to "lock up" a portion of your money so that it cannot be transferred out digitally by anyone.
- Check for scam signs with official sources such as the ScamShield app. Call and check with the 24/7 ScamShield helpline at 1799.
- Tell the authorities, family, and friends if or when you encounter
scams. If you suspect that you have fallen victim to a scam, call your bank immediately to block any fraudulent transactions and make a police report.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg.
