At least S$4.8 million lost to scams involving fake Harvey Norman staff since January

Victims would receive unsolicited calls from scammers pretending to be Harvey Norman staff, claiming the victims had bought a television set or had a pending delivery confirmation.

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

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SINGAPORE: Police have warned of a surge in scams involving fraudsters posing as Harvey Norman employees, with at least 119 cases reported this year.

The scams have resulted in losses of at least S$4.8 million (US$3.8 million) since January, police said on Monday (Sep 21).

When the victims denied making the purchase, the scammers would say that their personal details had been misused and that further investigations were needed.

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 victims would then be transferred to another scammer pretending to be a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officer, who would accuse them of being involved in criminal activities like money laundering. To facilitate the purported investigations, victims would be instructed to transfer money to a "safe account". In some cases, they were told to withdraw cash, buy gold bars or bring valuables such as jewellery and luxury watches to hand over to unknown individuals for "investigation purposes". Victims were assured that their money and valuables would be returned after the "investigations" were completed, only to realise later that they had been scammed after making multiple money transfers without receiving the refunds they were promised. The police reiterated that Singapore government officials will never ask members of the public to transfer or hand over cash or valuables, or disclose their banking login details. Government officials will also never ask them to install mobile apps from unverified app stores or transfer their call to the police and other government officials. Members of the public are encouraged to take precautionary measures, including using the ScamShield app to guard against scam calls and SMSes. Those in doubt can also call the 24/7 ScamShield helpline at 1799.

The victims would then be transferred to another scammer pretending to be a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officer, who would accuse them of being involved in criminal activities like money laundering.

To facilitate the purported investigations, victims would be instructed to transfer money to a "safe account".

In some cases, they were told to withdraw cash, buy gold bars or bring valuables such as jewellery and luxury watches to hand over to unknown individuals for "investigation purposes".

Victims were assured that their money and valuables would be returned after the "investigations" were completed, only to realise later that they had been scammed after making multiple money transfers without receiving the refunds they were promised.

The police reiterated that Singapore government officials will never ask members of the public to transfer or hand over cash or valuables, or disclose their banking login details.

Government officials will also never ask them to install mobile apps from unverified app stores or transfer their call to the police and other government officials.

Members of the public are encouraged to take precautionary measures, including using the ScamShield app to guard against scam calls and SMSes.

Those in doubt can also call the 24/7 ScamShield helpline at 1799.

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受害者会接到诈骗分子冒充 Harvey Norman 员工打来的骚扰电话，声称受害者已经购买了一台电视机或有待处理的送货确认。

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）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：警方警告称，诈骗分子冒充哈维诺曼员工的案件激增，今年已报告至少 119 起案件。

警方周一（9月21日）表示，自1月份以来，这些诈骗活动已造成至少480万新元（380万美元）的损失。

当受害者否认进行过购买时，诈骗者会说他们的个人信息被滥用了，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：尽可能多地找到单词。显示更多 显示更少 受害者随后会被转交给另一名冒充新加坡金融管理局（MAS）官员的骗子，该骗子会指控他们参与洗钱等犯罪活动。为了配合所谓的调查，受害者会被指示将钱款转入一个“安全账户”。在某些情况下，他们甚至被告知要提取现金、购买金条或携带珠宝、名表等贵重物品交给陌生人，以“调查需要”。受害者被告知，调查结束后，他们的钱款和贵重物品将会归还，但之后他们才意识到自己被骗了，因为他们多次转账后都没有收到承诺的退款。警方重申，新加坡政府官员绝不会要求公众转移或交出现金或贵重物品，也不会透露其银行登录信息。政府官员也绝不会要求公众从未经认证的应用商店安装手机应用，或将电话转接给警方或其他政府官员。警方鼓励公众采取预防措施，包括使用“防诈骗盾牌”（ScamShield）应用程序来防范诈骗电话和短信。如有疑问，也可拨打“防诈骗盾牌”24小时热线1799。

然后，受害者会被转交给另一名冒充新加坡金融管理局 (MAS) 官员的骗子，该骗子会指控他们参与洗钱等犯罪活动。

为了方便所谓的调查，受害者会被指示将钱转移到“安全账户”。

在某些情况下，他们被告知要提取现金、购买金条或携带珠宝、名表等贵重物品交给身份不明的人，以便“进行调查”。

受害者被告知，调查结束后会归还他们的钱财和贵重物品，但后来他们才意识到自己被骗了，因为他们多次转账后都没有收到承诺的退款。

警方重申，新加坡政府官员绝不会要求公众转移或交出现金或贵重物品，也不会透露其银行登录信息。

政府官员也绝不会要求他们从未经核实的应用商店安装手机应用，也不会要求他们将电话转接给警察或其他政府官员。

我们鼓励公众采取预防措施，包括使用 ScamShield 应用程序来防范诈骗电话和短信。

如有疑问，也可拨打 24/7 ScamShield 热线 1799。

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