Beware of scammers posing as MHA officers: Police
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Members of the public should not transfer money or disclose any personal details to unknown people.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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SINGAPORE – Be careful if you get a call from someone who claims to work for a foreign law enforcement agency and needs your assistance in their investigations.
This is likely to be an impersonation scam.
Such foreign agencies do not have powers to conduct investigations in Singapore or direct anyone here to assist in their investigations, the Singapore police said on March 13.
They added that officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Cybersecurity and ICT Governance Directorate (CIGD) will not call members of the public as part of their duties.
This comes as at least $5,000 was lost to conmen claiming to be officers from the directorate in March, with at least one case reported.
In this scam variant, victims would receive calls from people claiming to be from the CIGD
The victims would be told that their personal data had been used for criminal activities in Malaysia. The call could then be transferred to a second scammer claiming to be from Malaysian law enforcement agencies, such as the Malaysian Interpol or Criminal Investigation Department.
The scammers would try to get the victims’ personal information, including bank account details, personal particulars, Singpass password or one-time password, or ask them to transfer money to a bank account to assist in investigations.
Members of the public should not transfer money or disclose any personal details to unknown people.
If in doubt, call the Scamshield helpline on 1799 to check.
For more information on scams, visit www.scamshield.gov.sg
