Think you've been scammed? Call 1800-722-6688
DPM Teo Chee Hean launching the anti-scam helpline with (from left) actor Li Nanxing, NCPC chairman Tan Kian Hoon, Commercial Affairs Department director David Chew and Assistant Commissioner of Police Lian Ghim Hua. Photo: SPF
SINGAPORE — In the light of the increasing number of reported scams such as Internet love scams, which are getting more sophisticated, the Singapore Police Force and the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) have launched a helpline.
With this hotline, 1800-722-6688, members of the public can seek advice or check if they are being cheated, should they be contacted by potential scammers. Manned by the NCPC, it operates Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm.
“We hope to provide timely intervention to stop a scam in progress, or give advice to those who are unsure if they are being cheated,” NCPC chairman Tan Kian Koon said yesterday.
“What we’ve found in the past, before this hotline, is that (people) may not know who to turn to,” NCPC vice-chairman Gerald Singham added. “(Now) they ... can either describe the call they got, and through the hotline, they’ll be advised what to do.”
To spread more public awareness, a television commercial fronted by actor Li Nanxing has also been launched. Its main message: “Don’t Panic, Don’t Believe, Don’t Give.” It highlights three common modes of cheating: Impersonation scams, Internet love scams and credit-for-sex scams.
The number of commercial crimes from January to June rose by 9.2 per cent to over 4,000 cases, compared with the same period last year, and online scams is a particular concern, noted Mr Tan.
From January to September, online purchase scams hit 1,491 cases, with scammers cheating their victims of at least S$1 million. In the same period, there were 448 Internet love scam cases, with victims duped of $$17 million in total.
There were 428 cases of scammers pretending to be officials from China, and they siphoned the most from their victims: S$21 million in total.
Last Monday, the police issued an advisory on email impersonation scams, which have increased by 20 per cent to 165 cases from January to September this year, compared with the same period last year.
These usually involve scammers hacking into the victims’ email accounts, obtaining information from their emails and impersonating someone with whom the victims have dealings. They then communicate with the victim and ask for money.
Homemaker and crime prevention ambassador Rita Koh, 68, said seniors in particular still tend to fall victim: “A lot of the seniors still don’t know about such scams, especially Internet love scams. Even the more educated ones still get scammed.”
Ms Kok Mun Moi, 70, who was spotted jotting down the hotline number at the police’s Festive Season Crime Prevention Campaign launch at Rivervale Plaza yesterday, agreed that the elderly were a vulnerable group.
“The more we listen (to the scammer), the more we might believe. I think a lot of old people also don’t go out and socialise, so they don’t know what’s going on. We should also keep in touch with the news,” she said.
