The police have warned that conmen are increasingly using social
media platforms and dating websites such as QQ, WeChat, Facebook,
Line and OkCupid to hook their victims.
The police issued an advisory on Tuesday (Nov 8) of some common
scams employed by conmen using such platforms and reminded the
public what to do to avoid falling prey.
In July, Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam had also released
statistics on the swelling number of online and social media
scams.
There were 2,450 such scams reported last year compared with 1,015
in 2014, Mr Shanmugam said in a written reply to a question in
Parliament.
The Ministry of Home Affairs revealed that there were 298 Internet
love scam cases in the first half of this year, almost twice the
150 cases reported in the same period last year. As much as $11.6
million have been lost to such conmen in the first half of the
year.
Tuesday's police advisory detailed three types of scams:
impersonation of China officials, foreign investment and Internet
love. Here are the different types of online scams and how to avoid
them:
Victims receive messages from a spoofed local telephone number
containing "999" or a spoofed China telephone number containing
"110" for the Chinese police.
They are accused of committing crimes and are asked to provide
further information such as their Internet banking details and
One-Time Password (OTP). Or, they are directed to a fake website of
the Singapore Police Force or the China Police and asked to key in
their banking details.
The scammers then use the personal and banking information to
access the victims' Internet banking accounts to make illegal
transactions. In some cases, the victims were instructed by the
scammers to transfer a sum of money using bitcoin vending
machines.
The transfer involves scanning a QR code provided by the scammers
and depositing money into the machine.
Victims receive messages from unknown individuals claiming to be
brokers or staff from banks or financial security firms in Hong
Kong.
Thereafter, the victims will be introduced to attractive
investments packages that promise returns of 10 to 50 times the
amount invested.
Victims are instructed to transfer their money to banks in Hong
Kong
and China and also told to pay administrative fees, security fees
and other taxes to receive the profits and returns.
Victims receive friend requests from unknown individuals and
eventually develop a romantic relationship or friendship with
them.
The victims will be asked to lend the other party some money on
pretext of various reasons such as payment for tax to release a
gift that was stuck at customs or investment into seemingly
attractive investment packages.
Victims were typically instructed to transfer money to banks in
Hong Kong and China.
- Call the agency's official telephone number to check that they
had contacted you. It is unlikely for government agencies to send
unsolicited messages or make unsolicited calls to members of the
public on the social media for official matters.
- Ignore instruction to remit or transfer money. Do not give out
personal information and bank account details to strangers.
- Exercise caution when befriending strangers through social media
platforms. Be wary when asked to send money overseas.
- Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. You
may be overwhelmed by emotion and err in your judgment.
- If you have information related to such crime or if you are in
doubt, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or call 999
for urgent Police assistance.
TNP
