The Police would like to alert the public to a scam message that has been circulating online via SMS from a fake number. Since January 2022, at least 18 victims have fallen prey to such scams with losses amounting to at least $120,000.
In these cases, victims would receive an SMS stating that there were issues with their credit/debit cards, and they should dial the number included in the message for assistance. After calling the number, victims would speak to scammers who would claim that there are issues with the victims’ credit/debit cards and request for their credit/debit card details and One-Time Password (OTP) under the pretext of assisting the victims. Victims would later realise they had fallen prey to a scam when they discovered fraudulent transactions made to their credit/debit card.
Members of the public are advised to be aware of such fake SMSes as they are not official SMSes disseminated by any of the banks nor credit/debit card issuers.
Members of the public are advised to follow these crime prevention measures:
- Always verify the authenticity of the information with the numbers listed on official bank website or printed on the cards issued by the banks;
- Never transfer funds into bank accounts belonging to someone you do not know;
- Never disclose your personal information, credit/debit card details or OTP to anyone; and
- Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.
Members of the public are strongly encouraged to download the ScamShield mobile application (app). The app, jointly developed by NCPC and the Open Government Products team from Government Technology Agency (GovTech), identifies and filters out scam messages using artificial intelligence. It also blocks calls from phone numbers that were used in other scam cases or reported by ScamShield users. It is currently available for iPhone users, and an Android version will be rolled out progressively.
If you have any information relating to such crimes, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Join the ‘Spot the Signs. Stop the Crimes’ 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.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
31 January 2022 @ 5:28 PM