It all begins with a phone call. By pretentiously conducting a
telephone survey, the scammers would eventually inform their
victims of an invitation to attend an event. A few days later, the
victims would be informed that they have won a prize as their names
and mobile numbers were entered into a lucky draw on their behalf.
In order to claim the prize, the victims would be told to pay
administrative fees or other payments into a bank account or
through a remittance house. After each payment has been paid, the
victims would often be asked to make further payments, with the
promise of large sums of money. The payments only end when the
victims realize that they have been deceived or when they run out
of money.
In other scenarios, the caller(s) may take on a hostile tone and
fictitiously tell victims of them having pending cases with the
Singapore Courts or with enforcement agencies. The caller(s) would
eventually ask for payments in order to absolve them from their
cases or to safe-keep their money. The caller(s) may even threaten
to harm a family member if no payment was received.
If you receive such a call:
Another variation of such scams involves a 'kidnap' ruse. The
caller(s) would claim that the victim’s loved one had been
kidnapped and demand that a ransom be transferred to a specific
bank account. During the call, background noises may sometimes be
heard of someone struggling and yelling for the victim for
help.
If you receive such a call:
Remain calm. Be wary and do not fall prey. Try to contact your
loved-one immediately on his/her mobile phone, at the
workplace/school, friends who could be with him/her, etc. Should
repeated attempts at contacting your loved-one fail, seek
assistance from the police.
Those who receive such calls should alert the Police at the nearest
Neighbourhood Police Centre. More details of such scams can be
found in the SPF website at www.spf.gov.sg or
www.cad.gov.sg.
The above information has been reproduced with the permission
of Singapore Police Force (SPF). Any feedback should be made
directly to SPF at www.spf.gov.sg/feedback.htm. If you wish to
report a crime, call “999” or go to any Neighbourhood Police
Centre/Post or www.spf.gov.sg/epc. Nothing hereby signifies any
endorsement of sgforums.com by SPF.