At least S$1.3 million lost in October to scammers impersonating Simba staff members, government officials

Victims received unsolicited calls from scammers claiming to be Simba staff members, who claimed that the victims had purchased iPhones or subscribed to mobile plans or packages with the telco.

A person holding a smartphone displaying a "scam alert" message on its call screen. (File photo: iStock)

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SINGAPORE: At least S$1.3 million (US$1 million) was lost to scammers impersonating Simba staff members and government officials in October, police said on Thursday (Oct 29).

At least 59 cases were reported during the month. In this scam variant, victims received unsolicited calls from scammers claiming to be Simba staff members, who claimed that the victims had purchased iPhones or subscribed to mobile plans or packages with the telco.

When victims denied making such purchases, the calls were transferred to another scammer posing as a Simba customer service employee.

The impersonator claimed that the victims’ details had been misused for the purchase and that further investigations were required.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less The calls were then transferred to scammers impersonating government officials, including police officers and officers from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), purportedly to facilitate investigations. Victims were instructed to transfer money to bank accounts or to withdraw and physically hand over the money or valuables, such as jewellery or luxury watches, to the people posing as police officers or MAS officers. In one case, a victim transferred a total of S$285,000 to unknown bank accounts following the scammer’s instructions. Victims would only realise they had been scammed when the scammers became uncontactable or when they sought verification from the relevant government agencies. Police reminded the public that government officials would never ask them to transfer or hand over money or valuables, or transfer their calls to police or other government officials. Members of the public are advised to download the ScamShield app, enable security features and verify claims with relevant organisations through official channels. Those who suspect they have fallen victim to scams should contact their banks immediately to report and block fraudulent transactions, and lodge a police report.

The calls were then transferred to scammers impersonating government officials, including police officers and officers from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), purportedly to facilitate investigations.

Victims were instructed to transfer money to bank accounts or to withdraw and physically hand over the money or valuables, such as jewellery or luxury watches, to the people posing as police officers or MAS officers. In one case, a victim transferred a total of S$285,000 to unknown bank accounts following the scammer’s instructions.

Victims would only realise they had been scammed when the scammers became uncontactable or when they sought verification from the relevant government agencies. Police reminded the public that government officials would never ask them to transfer or hand over money or valuables, or transfer their calls to police or other government officials.

Members of the public are advised to download the ScamShield app, enable security features and verify claims with relevant organisations through official channels.

Those who suspect they have fallen victim to scams should contact their banks immediately to report and block fraudulent transactions, and lodge a police report.

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受害者接到诈骗分子打来的未经请求的电话，这些诈骗分子自称是 Simba 的员工，声称受害者已经购买了 iPhone 或向该电信公司订购了移动套餐或服务包。

一名男子手持智能手机，手机通话屏幕上显示“诈骗警报”信息。（图片来源：iStock）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：警方周四（10 月 29 日）表示，10 月份至少有 130 万新元（100 万美元）被冒充辛巴员工和政府官员的诈骗分子骗走。

当月至少报告了59起案件。在这种诈骗手法中，受害者会接到自称是Simba公司员工的诈骗电话，对方声称受害者购买了iPhone手机或在该电信公司订购了手机套餐。

当受害者否认进行过此类购买时，电话会被转接到另一个冒充 Simba 客服人员的诈骗者。

冒名顶替者声称受害者的详细信息被滥用于此次购买，需要进行进一步调查。

CNA游戏猜词游戏：逐行破解单词；流行词游戏：用给定的字母组成单词；迷你数独：小巧的谜题，强大的脑力挑战；迷你填字游戏：小网格，大挑战；单词搜索：尽可能多地找出单词。显示更多 显示更少 这些电话随后被转接到冒充政府官员的诈骗分子，其中包括警察和新加坡金融管理局（MAS）官员，声称是为了协助调查。受害者被指示将钱款转入银行账户，或者提取现金或贵重物品（例如珠宝或名表）并将其交给冒充警察或MAS官员的人。在一个案例中，一名受害者按照诈骗分子的指示，将总计28.5万新元转入了未知的银行账户。受害者只有在诈骗分子无法联系或他们向相关政府机构寻求核实时，才会意识到自己被骗了。警方提醒公众，政府官员绝不会要求他们转移或交出金钱或贵重物品，也不会将他们的电话转接给警方或其他政府官员。建议公众下载“防诈骗盾牌”（ScamShield）应用程序，启用安全功能，并通过官方渠道向相关机构核实信息。怀疑自己遭遇诈骗的人士应立即联系银行，举报并阻止欺诈交易，并向警方报案。

随后，这些电话被转接到冒充政府官员（包括警察和新加坡金融管理局 (MAS) 官员）的诈骗分子，声称是为了协助调查。

受害者被指示将钱款转入银行账户，或提取现金或贵重物品（例如珠宝或名表）并交给冒充警察或新加坡金融管理局（MAS）官员的人。在一个案例中，一名受害者按照骗子的指示，将总计28.5万新元转入了未知的银行账户。

受害者往往只有在诈骗者失去联系或向相关政府机构核实情况时才会意识到自己被骗。警方提醒公众，政府官员绝不会要求他们转账或交出金钱或贵重物品，也不会将他们的电话转接给警方或其他政府官员。

建议公众下载 ScamShield 应用程序，启用安全功能，并通过官方渠道向相关机构核实声明。

怀疑自己成为诈骗受害者的人应立即联系银行举报并阻止欺诈交易，并向警方报案。

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