A Singaporean woman has received a call from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's call centre number on Tuesday, June 25, said ICA.
The authority alerted members of the public through a news release, where they wrote the scam caller made the call from the ICA's call centre number, which is "6391 6100" and claimed that he was an ICA officer.
The scammer then asked questions about the victim's background and residence status for verification purposes. As per ICA.
The anonymous caller also threatened the woman to deport her back to her country of origin or be taken into custody, unless she pays a 'security deposit' in the form of 'Apple iTunes card.' The female victim was also asked to provide the card activation number to the fake ICA officer.
In the news release, ICA mentioned that it was a scam and to clarify they mentioned that the call was not made by any of their ICA officers.
It also added that "not call members of the public to request money in any form over the phone," and asked the residents of the Republic to take following precautions when they receive such calls:
- Don't panic – Ignore the calls and caller's instructions. No government agency will request for personal details or transfer of money over the phone or through automated voice machines. Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act as you may be overwhelmed by emotion and err in your judgment.
- Don't believe – Scammers may use caller ID spoofing technology to mask the actual phone number and display a different number. 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 a while, then call the number back to check the validity of the request. For foreign residents receiving calls from persons claiming to be police officers or government officials from your home country, hang up the call and dial the number of your Embassy/High Commission to verify the claims of the caller.
- Don't give – Do not provide your personal information such as name, identification number, passport details, contact details, bank account or credit card details to suspicious or unknown parties.
In addition, ICA stated that the authority takes a serious view of such scam calls as it undermines public trust in ICA. If any member of the public wants to share any information related to such scams, they can call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
