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Immigration and Checkpoints Authority warns of phone scams made in its name to ask for money

SINGAPORE — If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer asking for your personal details and money transfers, the best thing to do is to hang up.

Some members of the public have been getting calls from numbers such as the immigration offender hotline 1800 3916150, where the caller asks them for personal details and money.

Some members of the public have been getting calls from numbers such as the immigration offender hotline 1800 3916150, where the caller asks them for personal details and money.

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SINGAPORE — If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer asking for your personal details and money transfers, the best thing to do is to hang up. 

These callers are not officers from ICA and are scams, the authority said in an advisory on Tuesday (Aug 6).

“ICA does not call members of the public to request money in any form over the phone,” it said. 

The advisory stated that some members of the public have been getting calls from “different numbers” such as the immigration offender hotline “1800 3916150” that allows the public to call and provide information on immigration offences and related activities.

During the course of the conversation, the caller would threaten the person on the line with deportation should he or she fail to provide personal particulars and do the money transfers.

ICA said that should anyone receive a suspected scam call, they should first ignore the caller’s instructions and then call someone they trust for advice before they act. 

“No government agency will request personal details or transfer of money over the phone or through automated voice machines,” it added. 

The caller or imposter may also use identity-spoofing technology to mask his or her phone number and display a different one, so calls from a Singapore number might be from a foreign caller, ICA said.  

“If you receive a suspicious call from a local number, hang up, wait a while, then call the number back to check the validity of the request.”

Foreign residents receiving calls from people claiming to be police officers or government officials from their home country should hang up and call the number of their embassy or high commission to verify these claims. 

ICA also warned the public not to give any personal information such as name, identity card number, passport details, contact details, bank account or credit card details to suspicious callers.

“(We take) a serious view of such scam calls as it undermines public trust in ICA,” it said.

If you have any information related to such scams, please call the police at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.

To seek scam-related advice, you may call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688 or go to www.scamalert.sg.

Related topics

ICA scam fraud money phone

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