Stay up to date about scams to avoid becoming a victim

Scammers seem to be everywhere and could be anyone (“Remittance firm’s vigilance helps foil scam involving S$1,000”: Aug 5, “DHL scammers cheated victims of S$12 million in three months”; July 29, and “Man arrested for job scams”; July 23).

The top trending scams being perpetrated through phone calls and social media include the Singapore Civil Defence Force scam, the Singapore Power Services scam, the FairPrice voucher scam, the 999 scam, credit-for-sex scams and online purchase scams.

Like technology, the types of scams change fast, and many Singaporeans may be unaware of the newest ones, which is the main reason victims fall into the traps set.

Though most of the scams have been reported in the media, the general public may still fail to recognise them. The scammers’ stories may sound real and convincing, making it difficult for victims to differentiate between scam and truth.

There are several ways to avoid being a victim: Never trust a person one does not know or any call from an unknown number; never share personal information or pay money up front.

Before one decides to make a payment or share personal information, one should seek counsel from a trusted person. And one should always research online into the ongoing types of scams.

With knowledge of the current situation, we can avoid scams and save our hard-earned money.

There is also the Truecaller app, which updates users on the phone spammers in their area and notifies them if they get a spam call.