Victims cheated of at least S$14,600 in new social media scam

SINGAPORE — The police have raised an alert on a new type of scam on social media, after several reports of victims being cheated of at least S$14,600 in total.

Seven police reports were filed between September and November, with the ages of the victims ranging from 44 to 67.

The victims had been informed by their Facebook “friends” that their names were in the list of winners on certain Facebook pages such as FB Social Promotion International and Home Care Cash Grant, and were told to visit these pages to collect their winnings, said the police in a press release on Friday (Dec 2).

Upon visiting these Facebook pages, victims were then asked to provide personal particulars and remit monies to overseas parties as insurance or delivery fees before the winnings could be claimed.

The police warned that these Facebook “friends” were in fact scammers, who had either used hacked or spoofed accounts of the victims’ friends to contact them.

When acting on messages received through social media platforms, the police advised individuals to be wary of messages informing them they have won a prize, especially if they have never entered any lucky draws or contests.

The police also advised members of the public to ignore requests for up-front payment to claim a prize and check that the person they are communicating with online is not an imposter using a hacked or spoofed account.