*RING RING*
Imagine seeing your dad’s number flash across your screen, so you pick it up thinking it’s your beloved old man calling to check on you.
“Son, transfer some money to me, I don’t have enough anymore,” a sudden low and crackly voice speaks.
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Then you realise – wait, that’s not Dad’s voice at all and he doesn’t talk like that either… I’m not even a son!
But… how can it not be, the number is his number, though?
Well, believe it or not, it’s a scam.
Hackers are really stepping up their game nowadays.
New Scam Alert
Every few months, there’ll be an alert of a new scam that gets people to transfer money unknowingly into the scammers’ hands, and this month is one of those yet again.
Technology is getting way too advanced, huh?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced this yesterday (18 June 2019) on Facebook that there have been reports of scammers masquerading as them in attempts to scam money, and that three people have come forward to tell them about it.
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Scammers have been calling unsuspecting people, claiming to be from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asking them to log onto a website in order to transfer money to them.
Of course, most people would be suspicious of calls asking them to transfer money, especially if it’s from an unknown number or an unfamiliar one.
However, scammers also know that, so they’ve become smarter and adapted. The number that displays on the victims’ phone numbers during the scam calls is actually the number of MFA’s main hotline, 6379 8000.
Yep, so you’d be thinking the real MFA called you and asked for money from you, and thus be more likely to succumb to it.
The victims didn’t seem to recall anything about the details of the money transferring website, however, so that will probably remain investigated.
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How Are They Faking It?
You’re probably wondering how the scammers were able to hide their number and make it seem as if MFA’s main hotline number was the one making the calls, for most people are still unaware.
Well, MFA explained that it’s possible through a process called spoofing, through which the scammers can mask their own phone numbers to display MFA’s number instead. It’s a common technique gaining popularity amongst hackers to deceive unsuspecting victims into thinking the source is trustworthy, and isn’t new to this current wave of spam calls.
With this technology, scammers can send and receive outgoing or ingoing text messages and calls from any number of their choice. They may even masquerade as the police one day and ask you to send them money, no matter how weird it sounds.
Take Precautions
While we can’t stop every scammer from faking their identity and spoofing numbers for scam purposes, the best we can do is protect ourselves from falling prey to these money hungry scammers.
MFA’s also highlighted in their Facebook announcement some precautionary measures that we as members of the public can take to avoid getting scammed.
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- Don’t send money to them – MFA officers will not ask for money transfers over the phone.
- Don’t provide your personal information to the caller if they’re suspicious or unknown and untrustworthy.
- If you’re suspicious of a call from MFA, hang up and wait a few minutes before calling MFA’s main hotline at 6379 8000 again to verify if they really did call you or not.
If you’re unlucky enough to get targeted by them or know any other information of such scams, you can call the police hotline at 1800-255 0000 or submit a report online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
Alternatively, you can troll the scammer back for some fun – no remorse needed.
And most importantly, subscribe to our YouTube channel. We’ve a few anti-scam videos made in collaboration with SPF, and they’re both entertaining and informative:
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