SINGAPORE - The police issued an advisory on Friday (May 19) about a new scam that uses the police hotline number.

"The police are aware that some members of the public have been receiving missed calls from police hotline contact number 1800-255-000 on their mobile phones," it said in a Facebook post.

The number 1800-255-0000 would not be reflected on phones for all genuine calls made from the hotline, police said.

The hotline is meant for the public to provide information on crimes and other non-urgent matters.

"Members of the public are advised to ignore such calls from unknown origins, where Caller ID spoofing technology may be used to mask the actual phone number and display a different number," police said.

Last July, a similar scam which used numbers starting with 999 was carried out.

Members of the public with information can go to www.police.gov.sg/iwitness, and dial 999 if urgent police assistance is required.