Singapore – A video of a scammer posing as the police with jurisdiction from the Government to get the bank details of individuals is circulating online; however, netizens noted that the heavy and incomprehensible accent of the caller makes for a poorly-delivered attempt. Nonetheless, the video serves as an example of the ongoing scams to watch out for and avoid.
On Saturday (May 2), Facebook page All Singapore Stuff uploaded a video with the caption, “Halo polis, can talk slower? Don’t like this leh, already take Singaporean jobs now want to scam our bank money?” The video featured a recorded call from someone pretending to be a police officer asking for the bank details of the person on the line.
The conversation
When the guy asked the scammer what his purpose was for calling, he was informed that there was a “new security policy from the Government stating that all residents (sic) to update their bank card details.” Failure to do so would lead to one’s account getting blocked.
“Ok, which bank,” asked the guy. “Any bank of Singapore. You must update your bank details right away,” replied the caller. He asked if the person uses a bank in Singapore.
“I don’t have a bank in Singapore; I only use China bank because China very good.”
The scammer asked if the guy had a Singapore bank account. “I have, but they’re all for my savings only,” said the receiver. “Ok, where is your bank card? With you now?” the caller asked.
After replying that his bank card was inside his wallet, the scammer asked the guy to take it out and read the 16 numbers physically written on the card.
The guy asked why the police were the ones doing this and not the banks. The scammer used the Government as an excuse. “What if I don’t want to give? What you can do?”
The scammer tried phishing for more details, adding that it was “so simple” to follow the instructions. “Not simple, lah. Cause police never do like this, what, (sic)” said the guy. “We have authority, and right now they’re going to block the card,” threatened the scammer.
In hopes of trolling the caller some more, the guy explained that the police are involved in apprehending members of the public for not wearing masks, not this. The scammer said something incomprehensible to which the guy replied, saying, “I don’t watch the news, I watch Netflix and listen to Spotify.”
Sensing that his tricks weren’t working, the scammer said they would contact him again and ended the call.
Outsmart scams
Netizens shared their experiences with scammers, some of them also claimed to be from the SPF. “I asked him where is the police headquarters and he told me at Balestier Road. I told him straight that Singaporeans are not so easy to be conned,” said Kok Hwa Lee.
Many called for a movement to play along with such callers as it is both entertaining and could probably save others from falling for the trap. “Cause we already know it is a scam, and by delaying the time, we reduced the potential for someone to get conned,” said Angy Ng.
Meanwhile, Jason Tang criticised the scammer for failing to convince his target customer. “The boss will fire this telemarketer staff for sure,” commented Mr Tang.
https://www.facebook.com/allsgstuff/videos/652496995590937/?v=652496995590937
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