Everything you need to know about the different phone scams in S’pore

With technology getting more advanced in the world these days, phone and online scams have been increasing in number. Though the police have been active in warning the public about the different scams that may happen, some people have fallen for them resulting in unfortunate situations.

Impersonation Scams
A becoming common scam in Singapore recently, many victims have been receiving calls with numbers starting from ‘999’. When you pick up the call, the personnel would proceed to explain saying that you have a parcel, passports or weapons. Often times, victims who weren’ aware that they were being scammed would panic and do everything they can to hide the matter from being discovered by authorities. Upon asked by their “officer”, victims will give away their personal particulars including bank accounts.

What to do:
The police have advised for you to ignore the calls or if you answered, do not at any time transfer money or give away your particulars. Proper authorities will never ask you to make payments through a phone call. Remember to always say no!

Payment for Purchase Scams
Victims often fall for these scams when they get attracted to deals that are too good to be true. A brand new iPhone 6 for just $50? You better think twice as scammers often post advertisements on sites, with products at very low prices. They would then ask their victims to pay in advance for the delivery, taxes, and other payments after which you won’t be able to find or contact them anymore.

What to do:
Check the vendor’s track record to make sure that they are reputable. Do not make any payments to sellers that you do not know or trust. Also, don’t provide any personal information that is not necessary to make the purchase.

Phishing/ Lucky Draw Scams
Victims usually would receive an SMS or phone call saying that they have won a lucky draw or lottery. To get their winnings or reward, they are asked to pay an administrative fee first. Other times, some victims are convinced by the scammer to say that they have won an asset in a foreign country and will have to make payment to a overseas bank account. Other cases include callers claiming that you have won a ticket to Japan in a concert and would require your passport details to continue with the procedure. So, the next time someone tells you that you have won a car overseas, they’re probably lying.

What to do:
Don’t make payments or pay administration fees for any prizes especially if you haven’t entered any contests. Call the police at ‘999’ immediately and think twice before you proceed with any deals that seems too good to be true.

Wangiri Scam
In Japanese, ‘wan’ means ‘one’ and ‘giri’ means ‘to hang up’. This Wangiri scam is another one that has been happening in Singapore recently and is known to ring on one ring before hanging up. Victims will realize that an unknown number with a long phone number left a missed call on their phones. Some choose to call back, afraid that they have missed an important call. However, this is what scammers want you to do. Once you call back, you’ll find yourself listening to advertisements or subscriptions to premium and Internet services. After which, will be charged to your bill. Another case is through Whatsapp messages with attachments where victims who call back the number attached will receive a hefty phone bill.

What to do:
Don’t call back if you don’t recognize the missed call’s number especially if the number is an overseas number.

Line Scams
Recently, some subscribers of LINE would find their account sending out messages to their contacts asking them to help by purchasing iTunes gift cards on behalf of them and promising to pay them back. Victims who kindly bought these cards for their friends would be asked to send the redemption codes to the scammer. By the time they discover that it’s fake, the card would have been redeemed.

What to do:
Directly call or message the user who has sent you the message on whether it was really them, asking for help. You’ll be able to verify the “friend”‘s identity by asking questions that your friend would surely know like “what is the name of the school that we attended together”. Additionally, don’t transfer or help to purchase any items before you check.

Top Image: tubartstock / Shutterstock

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com