The Singapore Police said yesterday (11 March) that more than $1.2 million have been lost by at least 280 victims who fell prey to scammers pretending to be their friends, since January.
The scam involved the scammers calling the victims on the phone from unknown numbers with “+” prefixes and asking the victims for monetary help.
The scammers would ask the victim to guess their identity or tell them “you can’t remember me?!”, before using a name that the victim felt familiar.
They would then claim to have lost their phone or changed numbers, before asking the victim to add their phone in their list of contacts.
The scammer would then call them back after a few days and ask for monetary loans, and the victims would only realise that they have been duped after calling their actual friends that the scammers pretended to be.
The police advised people to be careful of calls with “+” in front, more so f they are not expecting international calls.
They are also advised to check with their family and friends through alternative methods to verify the authenticity of the request.
Persons with information about the scams can call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit the information online via i-Witness.