SINGAPORE: Singapore authorities have urged members of the public to be vigilant against unsolicited calls from scammers impersonating Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) officers.
There have been at least four such cases reported this year with total losses amounting to at least S$231,000 (US$172,000), the police and PDPC said on Monday (Feb 17).
Victims of such scams would first receive unsolicited calls from people claiming to be from the PDPC.
They would be told that their mobile number has been used for criminal activities in Malaysia and urged to report to the PDPC office to assist with investigations.
“When victims visited the office, the scammer would not show up. Victims would then contact the scammer who would provide an excuse and persuade the victim to transfer monies to specified bank accounts under the pretext of assisting in investigations,” said the police and PDPC in a joint media release.
In some cases, the call would be transferred to a second scammer claiming to be from Malaysian law enforcement agencies.
This scammer would attempt to dupe the victim further by citing their purported government “staff ID card” and urging them to verify this ID number via a fake Malaysian law enforcement agency website.
Victims would then be either directed to transfer money to specified bank accounts or disclose their personal information such as personal or banking credentials, SingPass password or two-factor authentication (2FA) one-time passwords (OTP) for the purpose of assisting in investigations.
The information may be misused to access the victims’ bank account for unauthorised transactions or create a new bank account under the victims’ name.
“Victims would only realise that they had been cheated when the scammers become uncontactable, or when they subsequently verify the situation with the PDPC through official channels,” said the authorities.
“We would like to inform members of public that foreign police forces do not have powers to conduct investigation in Singapore or direct anyone in Singapore to assist in their investigations,” said the police and PDPC.
Those who receive a call or email from someone claiming to be from the PDPC should not provide any personal details or transfer any funds.
Members of the public can verify the call or email through official PDPC channels at 6377 3131 or info [at] pdpc.gov.sg before visiting the offices.
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There have been at least four such cases reported this year with total losses amounting to at least S$231,000 (US$172,000), the police and PDPC said on Monday (Feb 17).
Victims of such scams would first receive unsolicited calls from people claiming to be from the PDPC.
They would be told that their mobile number has been used for criminal activities in Malaysia and urged to report to the PDPC office to assist with investigations.
“When victims visited the office, the scammer would not show up. Victims would then contact the scammer who would provide an excuse and persuade the victim to transfer monies to specified bank accounts under the pretext of assisting in investigations,” said the police and PDPC in a joint media release.
In some cases, the call would be transferred to a second scammer claiming to be from Malaysian law enforcement agencies.
This scammer would attempt to dupe the victim further by citing their purported government “staff ID card” and urging them to verify this ID number via a fake Malaysian law enforcement agency website.
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Victims would then be either directed to transfer money to specified bank accounts or disclose their personal information such as personal or banking credentials, SingPass password or two-factor authentication (2FA) one-time passwords (OTP) for the purpose of assisting in investigations.
The information may be misused to access the victims’ bank account for unauthorised transactions or create a new bank account under the victims’ name.
“Victims would only realise that they had been cheated when the scammers become uncontactable, or when they subsequently verify the situation with the PDPC through official channels,” said the authorities.
“We would like to inform members of public that foreign police forces do not have powers to conduct investigation in Singapore or direct anyone in Singapore to assist in their investigations,” said the police and PDPC.
Those who receive a call or email from someone claiming to be from the PDPC should not provide any personal details or transfer any funds.
Members of the public can verify the call or email through official PDPC channels at 6377 3131 or info [at] pdpc.gov.sg before visiting the offices.
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