SINGAPORE - More than 120 people lost at least $330,000 to social media impersonation scams between Jan 1 and July 26.

Impersonation scams have been on the rise recently, with victims being approached on social media platforms on the pretext of joining or voting in campaigns allegedly organised by local brands, the police said on Wednesday.

Subsequently, the victims’ social media accounts are taken over by scammers or spoofed by culprits impersonating their targets’ relatives or friends.

The scammers ask victims for their phone numbers and/or one-time passwords (OTPs) sent out from various platforms such as Microsoft, Grab and Google, in order to send them gift vouchers or cash winnings from alleged brand campaigns.

The OTPs provided by the victims are then used by the scammers to approve transactions from the victims’ linked bank accounts and cards to e-wallets, the police said.

As a result, those targeted may also lose access to their social media accounts after giving away OTPs that were meant to reset their passwords.

In some variants, they may lose their social media accounts after clicking on links that were meant to reset their passwords or change the e-mail addresses linked to their accounts.

Apart from requests for phone numbers and OTPs, victims may be asked for their debit or credit card details and/or Internet banking credentials by the scammers, the police said.

Victims receive a link leading them to a website fraudulently bearing the DBS bank logo, which is used to trick them into disclosing their banking credentials.

They later discover unauthorised transactions made to their banking accounts and/or unauthorised charges made to their mobile phone bills.

The police advised the public to download the ScamShield app and set security features, such as enabling two-factor or multifactor authentication for banks, and transaction limits on Internet banking transactions, including PayNow and PayLah.

Before sharing banking credentials over the phone or on WhatsApp, people should check with authorised sources as the police do not ask for banking credentials and OTPs via such channels, they said.

If banking details have been disclosed, people should report it to the bank immediately.

If a social media account has been compromised, it should be reported to the platform, and friends should be informed so that they do not fall prey to scammers who may use the compromised social media account for impersonation purposes.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the anti-scam helpline on 1800-722-6688.