At least S$9.6 million lost to scammers impersonating staff of Chinese companies since August

SINGAPORE: More than 440 cases of scammers pretending to be staff of Chinese companies such as WeChat, Tencent and Union Pay have been reported since Aug 28, with losses coming up to at least S$9.6 million (US$7.2 million). 
Police said in an advisory on Monday (Nov 11) that victims would receive unsolicited phone calls from scammers impersonating Chinese company employees, informing them of an expiring subscription involving, for example, insurance coverage or WeChat services. 
The scammers would then inform the victims that fees would be automatically deducted from their bank accounts that are linked to the platform, unless the subscription is cancelled. 
To cancel, victims would have to verify their identities and bank accounts by providing personal information and making monetary transfers to various bank accounts.
The victims were assured by the scammers that their money would be refunded after successful verification, police added.
In some cases, the scammer would guide the victim through WhatsApp’s screen-sharing function to increase the bank transaction limit and perform bank transfers.  
“A WhatsApp screen sharing function allows scammers to view their banking ID, password and One-Time Password (OTP),” said police. “Members of public should be wary of sharing the screen of their devices with anyone that they do not know.”
In some instances, the scammers would try to boost their credibility or exert pressure on the victims via various methods.
For example, they would redirect victims to to speak with another scammer impersonating as customer service staff.
Victims would also be redirected to a phishing website with live customer service chat, designed to look like UnionPay’s website.
The scammers would also show fake staff employment passes and fake documents of the alleged subscriptions, with the victims’ personal information. 
Other cases saw the scammers sending emails purportedly from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), telling the victims that their financial accounts do not match the records maintained by MAS. 
Victims would also be informed that their WeChat accounts had been frozen. 
Most victims only realised that they had been scammed after making multiple monetary transfers without receiving the promised refunds, police said. 
“The police would like to advise members of the public not to send money to anyone they do not know or have not met in person before; not to disclose their personal information, bank/card details and OTPs to anyone; and not to share their phone or other screens with anyone they do not know,” the advisory read.
MAS also does not maintain records of individual’s financial or banking accounts.