SINGAPORE — Scammers have a new trick up their sleeves – charging gaming credits or online gift cards on their victim’s mobile phone accounts – after befriending them on Facebook.

The police said on its Facebook page on Monday (March 27) that it has received several reports of victims incurring unauthorised charges on their mobile phone bills as a result of this new scam.

Revealing the modus operandi, the police said scammers work by sending a friend request to their victims on the social networking site. In some cases, the conmen’s accounts closely resemble those of their targets’ friends.

After being accepted as a friend, the fraudster would ask for the victims’ mobile phone numbers and service providers, and use the information to make buy gaming credits online or online gift cards.

When asked for a three-digit One Time Password (OTP) verification sent to their mobiles, the victims hand over the information, only to find out after they receive their mobile phone bills that they had been cheated and charged for transactions that they did not make.

In its Facebook reminder, the police reminded the public not to share personal information including OTP or verification codes to anyone. They should also be wary of friend requests from strangers on social networking sites.

The public is also encouraged to report any fraudulent charges detected on their mobile phone bill to their mobile service provider immediately.