Between July to October 2019, the Police have received at least 30 reports of lucky draw scams where scammers had misused Changi Airport Group (CAG) related names, such as ‘Changi Millionaire’, to obtain victims’ credit card and bank account details. The total amount cheated was at least S$40,000.
In these cases, victims received unsolicited calls from scammers through phone calls or mobile applications such as ‘Viber’. The victims were then told that they had won a prize in a lucky draw campaign organized by CAG, and were asked to provide their credit or debit card details and bank account information in order to claim their prizes. They were also instructed to provide the One-Time-Password (‘OTP’) sent to their mobile phones. The victims eventually realised that they were cheated after discovering unauthorised transactions made on their accounts.
Some victims were also asked to purchase iTunes cards and send the accompanying codes to the scammers over the phone. In recent cases, scammers even made unauthorised top-ups to the victims’ Singtel Dash accounts using their credit card information, before making fraudulent transactions through the said Singtel Dash accounts.
Members of the public are advised to adopt the following crime prevention measures:
- Don’t be impulsive - Beware of unusual requests from strangers or even your social media contacts;
- Don’t believe - Be wary of claims that you have won a prize, especially if you have not participated in any campaigns or lucky draws.
- Don’t give - Do not transfer money or give out your personal information, bank account or credit/debit card details. Never give out your One-Time Password (OTP) to anyone, including your family and friends.
If you wish to provide any information related to such scams, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. For urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
You may call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 or go to www.scamalert.sg for scam-related advice. Join the ‘Let’s fight scams’ campaign at www.scamalert.sg/fight by signing up as an advocate to receive up-to-date messages and share them with your family and friends. Together, we can help stop scams and prevent our loved ones from becoming the next victim of scam.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
19 November 2019 @ 11:25 AM