SINGAPORE - Watch out for a fake Singapore Police Force website which scammers are directing victims to in an attempt to get their credit card and Internet banking details.
The scam usually begins with a call - scammers tell their victims that they are suspected of being involved in criminal activities such as money laundering as they have excessively large amounts in their bank accounts.
Victims are given a link to a website that resembles the SPF website, the police said in a news release on Friday (June 2).
There, victims are asked to follow instructions to provide their confidential information for investigation purposes. This information includes credit card details and Internet banking credentials.
The site is really a phishing site in disguise, designed to extract personal information and privileged banking details of victims. In most cases, the victims lose extensive amounts of money.
The police in their release clarified that the official SPF website is at www.police.gov.sg
For scam-related advice, call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722- 6688.
The police also advised the public to share this advisory with family and friends to prevent them from being the next scam victim.
Those who receive unsolicited calls, especially from unknown parties, are advised to take the following precautions:
- Ignore the calls. Scammers may use Caller ID spoofing technology to mask the actual phone number and display a different number. Calls that appear to be from a local number may not actually be made from Singapore. If you receive a suspicious call from a local number, hang up, wait five minutes, then call the number back to check the validity of the request.
- Ignore instructions to remit or transfer money. No government agency will ask you to make a payment through a telephone call, especially to a third party's bank account.
- Refrain from giving out personal information and bank details, whether on the website or to callers over the phone. Personal information and bank details such as Internet bank account usernames and passwords, OTP codes from tokens, are useful to criminals.
- If you have information related to such crimes or if you are in doubt, call the police hotline at 1800-255- 0000, or submit the information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. For urgent police assistance, dial 999.
