Every now and then we hear people crying for help after getting scam online by buying a cheap deal that is too good to be true or an elderly received a phone saying that his (Sarcastically speaking) “cow” has been kidnapped and ransom for X amount of cash or the ‘cow become ‘cheeseburger’.
Scams are generally started by people that want a quick profit by convincing people to believe and give out personal information from NRIC to bank details.
Social Engineering and how it works
Social engineering is a kind of deception that uses information about what one might know or assumes and forcing people to believe or think sub-consciously.
FEAR Example “You have a package with Singapore’s customs. Pay this amount of money or face jail term”Â
This is an example of using fear to cheat. Are Singaporean’s gullible or is it because of the local term ‘kia si’ aka ‘scare die’ that result in believing such scam calls and getting manipulated to transfer money to the scammer’s pocket.
 GREED Example “WE HAVE A SURE PROOF MAKE MONEY SYSTEM JUST INVEST X AMOUNT OF MONEY.WITH US”
Greed, with Singaporean’s living in a fast pace economy, everyone is trying to earn money fast, pressure from peers sometimes causes people to be desperate to earn money in unimaginable ways. In Singapore’s context ‘Kiasu’.
“I’m 30 years old, my friend is also 30 years old. He has a BMW”
This is how scammers use this against you with “get-rich-schemes” but end up being poorer at the end of the day. Schemes range from investment plans, pyramid schemes and so on.
Not all investment or pyramid schemes are scams but it is always safer to not put all your eggs in one basket.
How to prevent scams?
Educate yourself!!! Read the news and be careful where or who you share personal information with, especially online!
You never know when the information can be used against you.