Police warn of new scam involving impersonation of Malaysian officials
SINGAPORE — Police are alerting the public to a new scam whereby the scammer is impersonating a Malaysian official.
In a media release on Wednesday (2 October), police said that in this scam, victims would receive a call from someone claiming to be from a Malaysian bank, informing that the victim had applied for a credit card and made a cash withdrawal with it. The victim would then be told that the bank would investigate the matter.
Subsequently, the victim would receive another from someone claiming to be a police officer from Malaysia. The caller would allege that the victim made unauthorised credit card transactions, and would send the victim an image of a Malaysian police report.
The victim would then be asked to provide his internet banking credentials and one-time password (OTP) for the purpose of investigations. In one such reported case, the victim subsequently discovered unauthorised transactions of S$10,000 made from his bank account.
Precautions to take against scam
The police would like to advise the public to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls, especially from unknown parties:
Don’t panic: Ignore the calls and caller’s instructions. No government agency will request for personal details or transfer of money over the phone or through automated voice machines. Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act, as you may be overwhelmed by emotion and err in your judgment.
Don’t believe: Scammers may use caller ID spoofing technology to mask the actual phone number and display a different number. Calls that appear to be from a local number may not actually be made from Singapore. If you receive a suspicious call from a local number, hang up, wait a while, then call the number back to check the validity of the request.
Don’t give: Do not provide your name, identification number, passport details, contact details, bank account or credit card details and OTP. Such information are useful to criminals.
To provide information related to such scams, the public should call the police hotline at 1800-2550000, or submit it online. For urgent police assistance, dial 999.
To seek scam-related advice, the public may call the National Crime Prevention Council’s anti-scam helpline at 1800-7226688 or go online. The public can also join the “Let’s Fight Scams” campaign by signing up as an advocate to receive up-to-date messages and share them with family and friends.
Other Singapore stories:
Man charged for flying drone along Raffles Avenue during National Day Parade
Singapore films, 'Wet Season' and 'A Land Imagined', pick up 10 Golden Horse Award nominations
