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.”
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