'DHL' parcel scam: 23-year-old suspect arrested

'DHL' parcel scam: 23-year-old suspect arrested
Posted 19 Jul 2016 21:05 Updated 19 Jul 2016 21:20

SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a "DHL" parcel scam, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Tuesday (Jul 19).

In a news release, SPF said a 32-year-old woman lodged a report on Jul 4 regarding a call received from an unknown person who claimed to be working for courier company DHL. She was told that she had a parcel containing illegal goods that was detained by Chinese Customs. The call was then transferred to another person whose number was reflected in caller ID as "999", and he claimed to be from the police, SPF said.

The victim was then asked to provide her Internet banking credentials, including the one-time password (OTP) from her Internet banking dongle. She later discovered that her i-banking account had been accessed without her knowledge and about S$36,000 had been transferred to an unknown bank account.

Officers from the Criminal Investigation Department who investigated the case arrested a 23-year-old suspect on Monday.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is believed to be involved in at least five other similar cases in which the victims had suffered losses amounting to a total of about S$90,000, SPF said.

The suspect will be charged in court on Wednesday for dishonestly receiving stolen property. If convicted, he faces up to five years' imprisonment, a fine or both.

The arrest comes amid a rising trend in phone scams. Just four days ago, the police separately nabbed three suspects for a similar scam, and since March police say they have received more than 50 reports of scammers impersonating overseas officials, tricking their victims into sending more than S$4 million in total.

The scams usually involve callers impersonating staff from courier companies like DHL and informing victims that parcels containing fake passports or weapons had been shipped in their name. The calls would then be transferred to another person claiming to be a customs or police officer who would tell victims to provide personal information including identification number, address, passport number and bank account details.

Impersonation scams and Internet love scams accounted for the top 10 largest single cheating cases in the first four months of the year, with an impersonation scam claiming the highest amount lost by a victim in a single case this year - S$2.3 million.

- CNA/mz


- wong chee tat :)

DHL Important Information - BEWARE OF SUSPICIOUS CALLS

DHL Important Information
 04/11/2016
BEWARE OF SUSPICIOUS CALLS

Over the past week, we have been alerted to automated phone calls received by our customers and members of the public from suspicious-looking phone numbers such as +1800 285555 (very similar to the DHL Express hotline 1800 2855555, but with “+” prefix) and a few others.

These automated calls first prompted them to enter a number for more options. They were then directed to real person who then asked them for more personal information.

We would like to clarify that such automated calls are not authentic. A police report has been made.
Members of public and our customers who receive such suspicious calls should do the following:
Ignore such calls
Hang up immediately if the call seems suspicious.
Do not press any number key or provide further information.
Call the Police immediately at Police Hotline at 1800 2550000 or ‘999’ to report the case.




- wong chee tat :)

DHL Important Information - Notification about the Postal Code Change in South Korea

DHL Important Information
 04/06/2016
Notification about the Postal Code Change in South Korea

In 1st August 2015, South Korea government converted the current 6-digit postal code structure to a new set of 5-digit postal code. DHL has set up necessary measures as below for your convenience.

How to enter postal code when requesting pick-up: You can still use the 6-digit postal code together with the new 5-digit until the end of 2015 when requesting pick-up through DHL electronic shipping solutions (ex. MyDHL)

Recommendations: Both the existing 6-digit and new 5-digit postal codes are available in all DHL Express customer applications until the end of 2015. DHL has already established dual postal code system in order to reduce the impact of postal code change. However, it is highly recommended that you use the 5-digit postal code as soon as possible since the old postal code will expire on December 31, 2015. Only new 5-digit postal code can be used beginning 1st January 2016.

To avoid customs clearance delay and misclassification issues please use the new 5-digit postal code correctly.

Please contact DHL Express Customer Service for further assistance.


- wong chee tat :)

Parcel Phone Scam Alert - POSB

Parcel Phone Scam Alert - POSB

Date: 1 June 2016
Threat Type: Phishing Calls

Description: A phishing campaign is targeting Singapore residents with automated phone calls. The calls start with an automated voice message in Mandarin, claiming to be a courier company and that their parcel had not been picked up. The call recipient is then directed to enter “0” or “9”. This connects them to a Mandarin-speaking person posing as a courier staff member who will claim that the parcel held contains prohibited items e.g. fake passports or weapons. The alleged staff member will request personal and/or bank information, or transfer the call to another person who will claim to be a customs or police officer. This person will in turn request personal and/or bank information or instruct the call recipient to remit money to an overseas bank account to avoid action from authorities.

Who might be at risk?
Customers with DBS accounts.

How can you protect yourself from this?

1. Be alert. Do not provide personal or bank information or remit money based on the advice of unsolicited callers.
2. Never give out any sensitive personal information (including login passwords or one-time passwords) over the phone or via email. Our staff will never ask you for such information.
3. Please inform our customer centre at 1800 111 1111 or +65 6327 2265 (when calling from overseas) immediately if you receive such calls or have disclosed your personal or bank information to unsolicited callers.
4. For more information on such scams, please visit http://www.scamalert.sg/scams/impersonation-scam.html

- wong chee tat :)