In the latest of impersonation scams, a 59 y.o woman was almost cheated of $500,000 by a scammer impersonating the High Court.
The scammer had allegedly tricked the woman into giving them her personal particulars and credentials of her internet banking account.
Police and digital asset trading company QCP Capital managed to foil the scam six days later on the 28 of October by convincing the woman that she had fallen victim to a government impersonation scam, just in the nick of time.
The Police also mentioned that from January to September this year, there are already 50 cases of scams similar to this and $6.8million had already been lost.
Impersonator’s modus operandi
The woman received a call on Oct 22 from a man who told her that he was calling from the High Court and wanted to inform her that an accused person involved in a money laundering case had named her as an accomplice.
She then denied any involvement or any knowledge of such a person and was advised by the scammer to lodge a report.
The scammer then transferred the call to someone who claimed to be Inspector Lim from the Singapore Police Force (SPF).
“Inspector Lim” then told her that she had to assist in SPF investigations by providing her banking credentials as well as her personal particulars.
On top of that, she was also asked to download a messaging app so that she could report her movements daily.
Ruse uncovered
The whole ploy was then uncovered by QCP capital’s staff after they had spotted some discrepancies in an online registration by a new customer who impersonated the victim.
After conducting their checks, the staff then sensed something was off and subsequently informed the SPF about it.
Police advisory
Using this case as an example, the Police mentioned that this highlights the strength of the partnership between the community and the Police in deterring and preventing crime.
The SPF also took the opportunity to remind the public that they will never ask for banking credentials when it comes to investigations.
Government officials will also never send images of their warrant cards or official documents via social media to the public as these materials are confidential.
Personal details and banking information should not be shared over the phone and instructions to transfer or remit money should always be ignored.
To find out more about scams, the public can always visit the scam advisory website www.scamalert.sg or reach out to the Anti-scam hotline at 1800-722-6688.
Image source: unsplash.com, Singapore Police Force Facebook