Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued an alert on Tuesday (18 June) of phone scammers who claimed to be from the ministry.
The ministry stated on a Facebook post that on 18 June 2019, three members of the public informed MFA that they have received suspicious calls from a person claiming to be from MFA, and asking them to log on to a certain website to make monetary transfers.
The ministry noted that the phone number displayed on the receivers’ phones is that of the MFA Main Line – 6379 8000.
However, according to the ministry, the members of the public were unable to recall details of the said website.
“This is a scam,” the ministry stressed, saying that scammers are able to use spoofing technology to mask the actual phone number to display MFA’s number.
The ministry then asked members of the public to take the following precautionary measures when they receive unsolicited calls:
– Do not send money to the caller. MFA officers will not make calls to ask for fund transfers.
– Do not provide personal information such as your name, identification number, passport information, bank account or credit card details to suspicious or unknown parties.
– If you receive suspicious calls claiming to be from MFA, hang up, wait a few minutes, then call MFA at 6379 8000 to verify its authenticity.
MFA also asked members of the public who happen to have any information on such scams to call the Police hotline at 1800-255 0000 or submit a report online.
