Phone scam dupes victims into transferring money to pay for fines

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A new phone scam has duped some members of the public into transferring money to pay for what they believed were fines.

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A man using a mobile phone. (AFP/Kenzo Tribouillard)

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SINGAPORE: A new phone scam has duped some members of the public into transferring money to pay for what they believed were fines.

One victim, Mr Ragavendaran, received a call telling him that he had filled in his birth date on his immigration card incorrectly.

The caller claimed to be from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority and asked him to pay S$2,000 for reprocessing charges, threatening to deport him if he did not pay up.

Mr Ragavendaran said: "I asked him, ‘How can I believe that you're from ICA?’ He asked me to (search online for) the ICA website and see what the contact detail is.

"I checked it and what was appearing on my phone (caller ID) was the same as what appears on ICA's website."

The call appeared to be made from the ICA hotline.

The caller was also able to provide Mr Ragavendaran accurate details of his particulars, including his old and new passport numbers and expiry dates, his date of birth, work address, his Singapore address and his communication address in India.

Believing that the call was legitimate, Mr Ragavendaran remitted the money.

IT specialists said scams involving the use of government hotlines are rare.

Phua Thong Chee, IT security consultant at Firefish Communications, said: "This scammer will make use of voice-over Internet technology to spoof the incoming phone number such that a different number would appear on the user's mobile phone.

“When the public suspects that the person on the other side is asking for too much information, they should request to terminate the phone call and instead call the other person back, so that they can verify that this person is actually calling from the organisation they claim to be calling from."

The ICA said it views this matter seriously as it undermines public trust in the organisation.

It advised members of the public to ignore such calls, as it does not make calls for fund transfers pertaining to immigration facilities.

It advised members of the public who have received such calls to call the police immediately to report the case.


- CNA/xq


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