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ICA warns of scam calls purportedly from the agency claiming recipients have flouted Covid-19 rules

SINGAPORE — The authorities are warning of a new variant of scam calls, in which members of the public receive a call from “+65 6812 5555”, which is similar to the SafeTravel Enquiries Helpline “6812 5555” of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

SINGAPORE — The authorities are warning of a new variant of scam calls, in which members of the public receive a call from “+65 6812 5555”, which is similar to the SafeTravel Enquiries Helpline “6812 5555” of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

ICA said on Friday (Aug 13) that the callers will claim to be officers from government agencies and they will accuse the recipients of either breaking Covid-19 rules or spreading fake news related to the pandemic.

Recipients of these calls will also be told to either pay a penalty or risk getting a report filed against them.

ICA clarified that it does not call members of the public to ask for money in any form over the phone.

Anyone who receives such calls should disregard them because they are scams, it added.

The agency said that these calls were not made by its officers or any other government agencies, and that no government agency would ask for someone’s personal details or a transfer of money over the phone or through automated voice machines.

It also said that the calls may appear to come from a Singapore number due to the usage of caller ID spoofing technology, which masks the caller’s real phone number and displays a different number.

If anyone receives a suspicious call from a Singapore number, ICA said that they should hang up, wait a while and call back to check the validity of the number.

As for foreign residents who receive calls purporting to be from police officers or government officials from their home country, they should similarly hang up and check these claims with their respective embassies or high commissions.

ICA stressed that members of the public should not disclose personal information such as name, identification card number, passport details, contact details, bank account or credit card details to suspicious or unknown parties.

Members of the public may visit www.police.gov.sg/iwitness or call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 to provide information on such scams.

For more information, go to www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688.

Related topics

Covid-19 coronavirus ICA scam calls crime

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