S$2 million increase in money cheated through WhatsApp, Facebook & Instagram scams for 1st …

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) received at least 1,188 reports of social media impersonation scams in the first six months of 2020. This was a marked increase from the same period last year — where only 83 cases were reported — with the SPF warning they have observed the “re-emergence” of such scams. In addition, the total amount cheated also increased to S$2.8 million, from at least S$726,000 in the first half of 2019. According to a news release, such cons typically involved the scammers impersonating the victim’s friends using compromised or spoofed WhatsApp, Facebook, or Instagram accounts. They would then trick the victim into disclosing their credit card information and one-time password (OTP). Recent Qoo10 impersonation scams More recently, the SPF said, victims have received fake Qoo10 campaign messages from their friends over WhatsApp, purporting that they had won a lucky draw. The messages then led victims to fake Qoo10 websites requesting their personal details like mobile numbers, internet banking details, and OTP. These were obtained under the pretext of being a requirement for the victims to claim their prize. However, victims later discovered that unauthorised fraudulent transactions had been made on their credit cards and bank accounts without…
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