Police warn of new tactic used in phone scams

Police warn of new tactic used in phone scams
Posted 23 Jun 2016 17:50 Updated 23 Jun 2016 18:00

SINGAPORE: Following a spate of phone scams involving impersonators, police are now warning against a new tactic used by scammers.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday (Jun 22), police said they have been informed of cases where members of the public received phone calls from people impersonating Government officials or representatives of courier companies, who then instruct them to download certain applications on their mobile phones.

Police said these applications, when downloaded, may introduce malware into devices that could in turn allow the scammers to gain access to incoming messages. This could then lead to the theft of important information, such as banking credentials and other personal details.

Police also reminded members of the public that no Government agency would ask for payment or personal information - such as bank usernames, passwords or one-time password (OTP) codes - through a phone call.

Police have advised members of the public to be wary when receiving calls of unknown origin, and to do the following:

- Ignore such calls;

- Do not follow the caller's instructions to install applications onto their phone;

- Do not give out personal information or bank details, whether on the website or to callers over the phone;

- Call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online, if they have information related to such crimes. Dial 999 if urgent police assistance is required.

Earlier in June, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) issued a warning about suspicious calls. The callers would claim to be an MOM or Government officer and would ask those on the other end of the line to transfer money to an account to resolve issues related to their stay in Singapore or work pass application.

There have also been reports of phone scammers impersonating officials overseas, or claiming to be representatives from DHL.

- CNA/dl


- wong chee tat :)