S$2.7 million lost to scammers pretending to be friends since start of year

SINGAPORE: The police on Thursday (May 12) warned the general public a couple of resurgence of scams involving scammers pretending to be friends and asking for monetary assist.

At least 587 victims have been cheated of greater than S$2.7 million in whole since January 2022, the police stated in a information launch.

In May alone, no less than 43 individuals have been duped, dropping greater than S$177,000 in whole to these scams.

Victims of these scams would obtain cellphone calls from unknown numbers with the “+” prefix, stated the police.

When answered, the caller wouldn’t establish themselves and as an alternative ask victims to guess the id of the caller with questions resembling “Guess who I am?” or “You can’t remember me?”

“Thinking that they were acquainted, the victim would answer with the name of a friend who they thought most resembled the caller’s voice,” police stated.

“The caller would then assume the identity of the said friend and would claim to have lost their mobile phone or changed their contact number.”

They would then ask the victims to replace their quantity of their contact checklist and name just a few days later to ask for loans to assist them with their monetary difficulties or troubles with the regulation.

“Victims would be provided with local bank account numbers or phone numbers to transfer money to,” stated the police. “Victims would only discover that they have been scammed after contacting their actual friends whom the scammers had impersonated.”

The police suggested members of the general public to beware of calls with the “+” prefix, particularly if they don’t seem to be anticipating a world name, in addition to uncommon requests obtained from cellphone calls or messages, even when they seem to be from household or friends.

They are additionally reminded to confirm whether or not the request is respectable by checking with household or friends by various means, resembling bodily meetups or utilizing beforehand established contact particulars.

Authorities additionally urged the general public to inform the police if they’ve any data associated to crime.