At least $1.3m lost to Simba staff impersonation scam in October, police warn

Members of the public should be wary of scams involving fraudsters posing as staff from telco Simba.

In an advisory issued on Thursday (Oct 29) afternoon, police said there have been at least 59 cases reported in October, with losses amounting to at least $1.3 million.

In these cases, victims received unsolicited calls from scammers claiming to be from Simba.

The victims were told by the "employees" that they had purchased iPhones or subscribed to mobile plans or packages with the telco.

Modus operandi: The same red flags

When the victims denied making such purchases, the scammers would claim that the victims' personal details had been misused and that further investigations were required.

This modus operandi is similar to that of scams involving fraudsters impersonating Harvey Norman or M1 staff .

In all such cases, victims were then transferred to another scammer impersonating police or Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officers, who would then instruct the victims to transfer money to bank accounts, or hand over cash and/or valuables to purported police or MAS officers for the purpose of "investigations".

In some past cases, victims would be reassured that their money and valuables would be returned to them once these "investigations" were completed.

Victims would only realise that they had been scammed after the scammers became uncontactable or when victims sought verification from the relevant government agencies.

How to guard against these red flags

While scammers are known to apply pressure tactics, those who receive such calls are advised to stay calm and spot these signs:

Asking for cash, gold, luxury watches, or cryptocurrency to be transferred or handed over.

Asking for banking login details.

Asking to obtain loans from licensed moneylenders.

Installing mobile apps from unverified app stores.

Transferring calls to the police or other government officials.

Those who find themselves in such situations should stop acceding to requests of scammers and seek advice from the authorities, family members or friends.

If in doubt, members of the public can call the 24/7 ScamShield helpline at 1799 for assistance.

Later this year, calls from the police will start with a common, easily recognisable prefix as part of efforts to counter such impersonation scams.

The police will be the first government agency to pilot this initiative .

公众应警惕诈骗分子冒充电信公司 Simba 的员工实施的诈骗活动。

警方在周四（10 月 29 日）下午发布的公告中表示，10 月份至少报告了 59 起案件，损失金额至少达 130 万美元。

在这些案例中，受害者接到了冒充辛巴公司的诈骗电话。

受害者被“员工”告知，他们曾向该电信公司购买过 iPhone 或订阅过移动套餐。

作案手法：同样的危险信号

当受害者否认进行过此类购买时，诈骗者会声称受害者的个人信息被滥用，需要进行进一步调查。

这种作案手法与诈骗分子冒充 Harvey Norman 或 M1 员工的诈骗手法类似。

在所有此类案件中，受害者随后会被转交给另一名冒充警察或新加坡金融管理局 (MAS) 官员的诈骗者，这些人会指示受害者将钱款转入银行账户，或将现金和/或贵重物品交给所谓的警察或 MAS 官员，以进行“调查”。

在过去的一些案例中，受害者会被告知，一旦这些“调查”完成，他们的钱财和贵重物品就会归还给他们。

受害者只有在骗子失去联系或受害者向相关政府机构寻求核实时，才会意识到自己被骗了。

如何防范这些危险信号

虽然诈骗分子惯用施压手段，但接到此类电话的人应保持冷静，并注意以下迹象：

要求转移或交付现金、黄金、名表或加密货币。

要求提供银行登录信息。

请求向持牌放贷机构获得贷款。

从未经认证的应用商店安装移动应用。

将电话转接给警察或其他政府官员。

如果遇到这种情况，应该停止满足诈骗者的要求，并向有关部门、家人或朋友寻求建议。

如有疑问，公众可拨打 24/7 ScamShield 热线 1799 寻求帮助。

今年晚些时候，警方来电将以一个常见的、容易识别的前缀开头，这是打击此类冒充诈骗行为的举措之一。

警方将成为首个试点这项举措的政府机构。