Singapore — One of the latest scams trending across Singapore takes the form of WhatsApp messages from a woman in Hong Kong.
So many scammers must be careful
Posted by All Singapore Stuff on thursday, 18 March 2021
Many Singaporeans have received WhatsApp messages sent ostensibly by a woman in Hong Kong. More than 100 such messages have been shared online.
The content of the messages is similar and is as follows:
“Hi, I haven’t heard from you for a long time. Last year, I returned to Hong Kong to visit my parents. Due to the epidemic, I cannot go to Singapore. How is the epidemic prevention situation in Singapore? I hope you can protect your health. I plan to continue to Singapore in July. I hope we can still meet in Singapore. You can click on my new Whatsapp mobible number (Hong Kong) and we can contact directly”
However, many eagle-eyed citizens were quick to point out the many discrepancies in this scam, especially after many Singaporeans posted their own accounts about receiving the message.
Firstly, the message is sent from WhatsApp numbers with different country codes, including those of Indonesia, United States, Colombia, and India. The message is not sent through local numbers, nor is it sent through Hong Kong phone numbers.
In addition, the only difference in the messages sent is the image attached.
The images above are just some of the many received by netizens who shared that they had received the same message.
Users who have contacted the number provided all received the same story from a person who claims to be a woman in Hong Kong.
The online community has taken to picking at the wording of the message. They pointed out that the scammer used “epidemic” instead of “pandemic”, which would have been the more accurate word for describing the Covid-19 situation.
“Ridiculous part is they text girls as well…Hello pls check the gender of the receiver at least and change the story line lol….” One Facebook user commented.
Some users added that they felt bad for the women whose pictures were used for the scam.
Denise Teh is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG