Recently, there has been an email impersonation scam involving the Singapore Police Force.
How the scam works is that scammers will send emails from the email address [email protected] to various recipients.
In the email, a fake officer claiming to be from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) will inform the recipient that he has committed financial fraud and needs to respond to the email within 48 hours.
The police advised that anyone receiving such emails should ignore them and not click on or try to open any attachments to such mail.
They should also not transfer money, or give out their particulars or bank account details to strangers.
Separately, the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) has launched a website called Scam Alert as part of a public education campaign on cyber crimes.
According to NCPC, the seven top scams in Singapore are:
Internet Love Scam
Victims, searching for love or friendship online, will be fooled into a relationship (usually by a foreigner) and asked to send money over.
Cyber Extortion
Overseas based female scammers will trick male victims into performing indecent acts in front of their webcam and use it to extort money.
Money Mule
After gaining the victim’s trust, the victim will be asked to open a bank account (or use his existing ones) and use it to receive money. They will then be told to remit it to another party.
Online Purchase
Popular products will be sold at low prices. The products don’t get delivered and the victim will be asked to make top-ups for all kinds of reasons.
Lottery
The victim will be told that he has won a lottery but need to send some money over in order to receive his prize money.
Impersonation Scam (via Email /Facebook or Phone Calls)
Scammers hack into someone’s email or facebook account and send messages to the victim’s friends asking for monetary help.
For the phone version, they will pretend to be some government officer and ask for money.
Kidnapping
Victims receive phone calls claiming that their next-of-kin has been kidnapped and are asked to pay a ransom.
Stay vigilant and warn your friends about these scams!