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In the latest move to crack down on payments scams, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a warning on Friday (April 4) about the use of payment platforms to defraud people of their money.
It highlighted the use of Chinese messaging and payment platforms, such as WeChat, UnionPay or Alipay and urged the public to be vigilant.
At least 678 impersonation scams worth at least S$17.4m ($12.91m) had been reported since January, it said.
According to the MAS, recent scams saw victims receiving unsolicited calls for local mobile numbers impersonating the Chinese platforms.
The scammer would tell victims a subscription to which they had signed up, such as for insurance coverage, was about to expire and direct them to continue the conversation on WhatsApp, the MAS said.
It said the scammer would tell victims that fees would be automatically taken from the bank accounts they had linked to the platforms unless they cancelled their subscriptions, but to do so they had to verify their identities by providing personal information.
Victims would also be told to verify their bank accounts by making bank transfers to a given bank account and in some cases would be guided to perform the transfers on the WhatsApp screen sharing function. The scammers would tell the victims their monies would be refunded upon cancellation of their subscriptions, the MAS said.
It said scammers used a range of tactics to bolster their credibility, including sending victims fake documents or having a second scammer impersonate a MAS officer who would tell them they had been implicated in money laundering activities.
Victims only realised they had been scammed when the scammers became uncontactable or they did not receive the promised refunds, the MAS said.
Precautions urged
The MAS urged people to take precautionary measures such as using the money lock feature on their bank accounts so a portion of their funds were safe from being digitally transferred by anyone else.
Impersonation scams are a problem with which the payments industry continues to grapple.
In March, authorities in Singapore urged firms to bring in technology-based solutions to halt the spread of AI-generated deepfake content that could be used to scam their employees.
Together with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, the SPF and MAS issued a joint advisory on scams warning that scammers were sending WhatsApp messages to people claiming to be their executive colleagues.
