The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has warned the public against a scam which is operated through a fake police website. The warning from the Singapore police came a day after one 60-year-old woman reported the loss of S$3,00,000 from her bank account without her knowledge.
Modus operandi of the crime syndicate
According to the victim of bank account looting, a call came to her mobile phone from a man who posed himself as a police officer. The man from the other end informed her that she is involved in a money laundering case. He also asked the woman to reveal her personal details.
Later, she received another call from an unknown man, and per his instructions, and she was diverted to a website very similar to that of Singapore Police Force.
In the website, she was compelled to enter her bank account details and the one-time password. The woman later discovered that S$3,00,000 was deducted from the account without her knowledge.
"The website is a phishing site in disguise, designed to extract useful personal information and privileged banking details of unsuspecting victims, resulting in extensive monetary losses in most reported cases," the police said, Today Online reports. Investigation of this case is currently under progress.
Warning to the public
After the incident, the police asked the general public to ignore unsolicited suspicious calls. Police have also asked people not to reveal any personal information to unknown people, and requested them to ignore requests to remit or transfer money.
The police revealed that calls that appear to be a local number may not be actually be made from Singapore.
"Calls that appear to be from a local number may not actually be made from Singapore. If you receive a suspicious call from a local number, hang up, wait five minutes, then call the number back to check the validity of the request," said the police, on their official website.
