The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has issued an advisory to alert members of the public to a fake SPF website.
The Police said that a Police report was reported on 21 September 2016 by a 41-year-old woman, regarding a call received from an unknown person who claimed to be a Police officer.
The woman said that the caller alleged that the woman was involved in money laundering activities and she was provided with a link to a website to key in her personal details and internet banking credentials, purportedly for investigation purposes.
The victim later discovered that her internet banking account was accessed illegally and multiple unauthorised transactions were made, resulting in a loss of over S$80,000.
Investigations had revealed that the said website bore resemblance to the SPF website with changes made to the “E-Services” page. The screenshot below shows the fake “E-Services” page.
The Police clarifies that the official SPF website is www.police.gov.sg.
Members of the public are advised to take the following precautions when they receive unsolicited calls, especially from unknown parties:
- Ignore the calls. 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 five minutes, then call the number back to check the validity of the request.
- Ignore instructions to remit or transfer money. No government agency will inform you to make a payment through a telephone call, especially to a third party’s bank account.
- Refrain from giving out personal information and bank details, whether on the website or to callers over the phone. Personal information and bank details such as internet bank account usernames and passwords, OTP codes from tokens, are useful to criminals.
The Police said that if you have information related to such crime or if you are in doubt, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit the information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. Please dial ‘999’ if you require urgent Police assistance.
