Fake Changi Airport Lucky Draw Cheats Over 30 People Of More Than S$40,000

When you were young, I’m sure your parents have taught you not to trust people easily.

“Don’t anyhow-ly follow strangers.”

“Don’t anyhow-ly take candy from random people.”

“Don’t anyhow-ly believe random calls.”

As we grow up, we realise that these are easy to spot and avoid.

I mean, if a rugged man came up to you and said: “Eh, you can get free money if you follow me.”

You couldn’t turn away any faster if you tried.

But as people grow smarter, so do the scammers.

Now instead, picture this:

You get a call from a professional sounding man that appears to represent a reputable organisation (such as Changi Airport Group) and informs you that you’ve won a lucky draw.

Not so easy now, is it?

Fake Changi Airport Group Phone Scams

More than $40,000 from over 30 people has been lost to scammers over the last four months between July and October, as reported by the Singapore Police Force.

These scammers have been posing as representatives of the Changi Airport Group (CAG).

Their signature method is to contact potential victims via phone calls or the Viber app to “notify” them that they had won (insert random CAG campaign here).

One such campaign used is the Changi Millionaire lucky draw.

The scammers failed to trick the cousin of Facebook user Peter Lee, who posted about the encounter to warn others.

Apparently, they had contacted his cousin through Viber, claiming that he won $50,000 in the Changi Millionaire campaign, but required his cousin’s identity and bank account.

Not only that, they also asked for pictures of him and his credit card.

Peter Lim remarked that this was an “amateurish con technique”.

Changi Airport Group Issues Alert

Posted on both their official website and the iShop Changi website, CAG warns customers of the potential phone scams.

They have stated that they would never ask for confidential information like bank account and credit card numbers.

If you receive a call claiming that you’ve won a CAG lucky draw, here’s how to know if it’s fake:

• Did you even participate in any lucky draws?

Come on. How could you win if you didn’t even participate in anything?

• Did they ask for your confidential information?
• Did they ask you to transfer any amount of money to them for any reason?

Huge red flag. Definitely a scam.

If you do encounter such calls, do inform CAG at [email protected] or +65 9664 9826.

Alternatively, inform SPF at 1800-255-0000 or www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.

Doing so would help them apprehend the culprits faster.

Meanwhile, let’s hope these phone scams stay – as Peter Lim said – “amateurish” so that they’re easy to spot.

Like that old Chinese phone call about a parcel that I keep receiving. Come on.