Once again, a new type of scam has reared its ugly head at Singaporeans, and Singapore Customs has stepped forward to warn residents about it.
In a Facebook post dated 4 March, Singapore Customs announced the emergence of an e-mail impersonation scam claiming to be sent from its director-general Tan Hung Hooi, or other senior members from its management.
The e-mail would ask if the recipient is able to complete a task, though the specific details of said task is unknown.
The funniest part: the e-mail ended off with “Sent from my iPhone”.
The post writes, “These emails were NOT sent by anyone from Singapore Customs. We urge the public to be vigilant against such scammers claiming to be Singapore Customs officers.”
The post also emphasised that official correspondents from Singapore Customs would not originate from personal e-mail accounts like Gmail or Yahoo, or any other unofficial domains.
To ensure the authenticity of e-mails from Singapore Customs, recipients are advised to check if the sender’s e-mail address contains the domain @customs.gov.sg, or to contact Singapore Customs directly at [email protected] if they are unsure.
“We take a serious view of such impersonation incidents as they undermine public trust in Singapore Customs,” the post concluded.
From deepfaked videos of Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong promoting investment schemes to local celebrity impersonators “love-bombing” unsuspecting fans, the prevalence of technology in today’s day and age also means that there are more kinds of scams popping up like mushrooms after a rain.
The sad truth is that while most of us believe that we would not fall for scams easily, individuals have lost up to thousands of dollars falling victims to these crimes.
In 2023, 914 victims lost a total of $6.1 million to loan scams, while 1,570 people lost a total of $9.7 million to social media impersonators.
Just in the first two months of 2024, with the ongoing The Eras Tour, a total of 334 Taylor Swift fans have reportedly lost at least S$213,000 while attempting to acquire tickets to their favourite singer’s concert, only to fall for scam sellers.
Members of the public are advised to adopt precautionary measures such as using the ScamShield app and read up on more information on how to protect against scams at: https://go.gov.sg/scam-advisory
Members of the public who have information on such scams or are unsure if they are being scammed are urged to contact the police hotline on 1800-255-0000, or submit information online at the official police website.
For urgent assistance, the public should dial 999. The police also suggest visiting www.scamalert.sg or calling the Anti-Scam Helpline for more information on scams.