China Officials Impersonation Managed to Scam Over SGD$18 Million in S’pore

Despite numerous efforts to minimise scams via anti-scam hotlines and posters plastered all over the island, they still happen very often.

But to really give you a grasp of just how dire the situation is, let’s use some figures.

China Officials Impersonation Managed to Scam Over SGD$18 Million in S’pore

In Singapore, scammers who impersonate China officials have successfully made off with at least S$18.8 million of our hard-earned money.

Now, I’m sure that you’ve heard of news regarding scams in the past, so you might think that Singaporeans have learnt not to trust strangers on the phone.

Wrong.

The police have revealed that between January and November 2019, around 401 reports regarding scams have been made.

From these cases, 242 were recorded from August to November 2019, wherein at least $10.8 million was lost.

This number is significantly higher than the 92 reports of scams which were made in the first five months of 2019 involving around $5.3million.

This means that the situation isn’t getting better, it’s getting worse. 

Scams Are Prevalent Despite Advisories From Police

Even though numerous signs and anti-scam posters have been put up all over the island by the police warning the public about scams, the numbers are still worrying.

The police even set up an Anti-Scam Centre in June after the number of scam cases increased but to no avail.

Thus, I have been tasked to remind you, dear reader, what kind of scams we should be wary of.

The police revealed that the latest scams usually entail scammers who pretend to be staff members from courier companies, telecommunication service providers or officers working in government agencies.

However, this list is by no means exhaustive.

They also use a list of common scenarios to fool unsuspecting people, such as

• A mobile number registered in their name was involved in a crime
• A parcel under their name contains illegal goods and has been detained
• There’s a pending court case against them
• They committed a criminal offence and are required to help with investigations

In some instances, they would ask the victim for their personal information and bank account details.

This includes internet banking information and One-Time Password (OTP) which they claim to require to investigate the case further.

The scammers would then scare the victims by telling them that they would be thrown into jail if they do not cooperate.

News flash: Never, ever tell anyone your OTP, not to your loved ones, your grandma or whoever else. Even SPF says so.

Fake Numbers

Lastly, be very very wary of messages or calls you receive from a “legitimate” number. Scammers are able to use caller ID spoofing technology to hide their actual phone number and show a different number.

I’ve personally received such a message from a “smsalert” number that claied that my “ATM Card temporary has been blocked” because I “did not have an update according new rules.”

Firstly, that England is more terrible-er than mine.

Secondly, never respond to such messages and never ever call back.

If you ever receive a dubious call, the safest option is to just put down the phone and call the original and correct number yourself, i.e. the official DBS hotline.

Stay safe folks!