$8.8m lost to scams involving impersonation of ICA officers, fake PR application assistance因冒充移民与关卡局官员、伪造永久居民申请协助等诈骗活动，损失高达880万美元。
The police and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) have alerted members of the public to two scams that they say have led to at least $8.8 million in losses.In a joint news release on Friday (Sept 25), the two Home Team agencies said the two distinct scam variants involve the impersonation of ICA officers, and fraudulent advertisements offering help with...
The police and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) have alerted members of the public to two scams that they say have led to at least $8.8 million in losses.
In a joint news release on Friday (Sept 25), the two Home Team agencies said the two distinct scam variants involve the impersonation of ICA officers, and fraudulent advertisements offering help with Singapore permanent resident (PR) applications.
Victims of the first scam variant were said to have received unsolicited calls from persons claiming to be ICA officers, saying that their personal information had been misused or that their phone numbers were linked to criminal activities such as transmitting scam messages.
According to the agencies, the calls would then be transferred to another scammer impersonating a China official.
The "official" would then demand the victims hand over cash for investigation or bail.
In some cases, victims were asked to meet up with unknown individuals to sign fake documents such as non-disclosure agreements.
Most of the victims in the 117 such cases reported since January would only realise that they have been scammed after making multiple monetary transfers or when the scammer becomes uncontactable.
The second scam variant, involving fraudulent PR application assistance, is also not new.
In these cases, when victims click on advertisements on social media platforms, they are directed to the website of a fake consultancy agency and would be prompted to submit their personal particulars, including their mobile numbers, through a form.
They would then be contacted via WhatsApp and misled into paying fees ranging from $200 to around $90,000 to proceed with the application.
The agencies said the victims were told this would improve their chances of success through investments in companies, purchases of academic certifications and donations.
Some of the victims also received a fraudulent automated acknowledgement email, claiming to be from ICA, after they made the "payment".
Since January this year, ICA has received at least 31 reports from members of the public regarding fake emails purportedly sent by ICA in response to PR applications, with losses amounting to at least $400,000.
Not new scams, same old tricks
These scam variants are not new, and AsiaOne had reported on both the impersonation and fake PR application scam variants since March this year.
In April this year, a Malaysian couple's ambition to secure a better future for their children resulted in losses of about $80,000 after they fell victim to the fake PR assistance scam.
To avoid falling prey to such scams when pressured, members of the public should remember that Government officials will never ask for the money or valuables to be handed over for investigations.
They are reminded not to transfer money to any unknown persons whose identities have not been verified, and should note that Government officials will not ask for sensitive information such as banking login details.
Those who wish to apply for immigration facilities such as PR should do so directly through ICA's website.
If in doubt, contact the 24/7 ScamShield helpline at 1799.
警方和移民与关卡局（ICA）已提醒公众注意两种诈骗手段，称这两种手段已造成至少 880 万美元的损失。
9 月 25 日（星期五），新加坡内政部和移民与关卡局两个机构联合发布新闻稿称，这两种不同的诈骗手段都涉及冒充移民与关卡局官员，以及发布虚假广告，声称可以帮助申请新加坡永久居民身份。
据称，第一种诈骗手段的受害者接到自称是移民与关卡局 (ICA) 官员的人员打来的未经请求的电话，称他们的个人信息被滥用，或者他们的电话号码与发送诈骗信息等犯罪活动有关。
据相关机构称，这些电话随后会被转接到另一名冒充中国官员的诈骗者。
然后，这位“官员”会要求受害者交出现金作为调查或保释金。
在某些情况下，受害者被要求与陌生人见面，签署虚假文件，例如保密协议。
自 1 月以来报告的 117 起此类案件中，大多数受害者只有在多次转账后或骗子失去联系后才意识到自己被骗了。
第二种诈骗手段，即提供欺诈性的PR申请协助，也并非新鲜事。
在这些案例中，当受害者点击社交媒体平台上的广告时，他们会被引导至虚假咨询机构的网站，并被要求通过表格提交他们的个人信息，包括手机号码。
然后，他们会通过 WhatsApp 联系，并被误导支付 200 美元到 9 万美元不等的费用才能继续申请。
这些机构表示，受害者被告知，通过投资公司、购买学历证书和捐款，这将提高他们成功的机会。
部分受害者在“付款”后还收到了一封欺诈性的自动确认电子邮件，声称来自 ICA。
自今年1月以来，ICA已收到至少31起公众举报，称收到虚假电子邮件，声称是ICA回复永久居民申请而发送的，损失金额至少达40万美元。
骗局不新，还是老一套。
这些诈骗手段并非新鲜事，AsiaOne 自今年 3 月起就报道过冒充他人和虚假永久居民申请诈骗等各种诈骗手段。
今年四月，一对马来西亚夫妇为了给孩子创造更美好的未来，不幸落入虚假公关援助骗局，损失了约 8 万美元。
为了避免在受到压力时落入此类骗局，公众应该记住，政府官员绝不会要求交出金钱或贵重物品进行调查。
提醒民众不要向任何身份未经核实的陌生人汇款，并注意政府官员不会索要银行登录信息等敏感信息。
想要申请永久居留权等移民待遇的人士，应直接通过移民与关卡局（ICA）的网站进行申请。
如有疑问，请拨打 24/7 ScamShield 热线 1799。