A 35-year-old woman named Li was tricked into transferring $18,000 to scammers who posed as Singtel employees and police officers.
The scam started when Li received a call from a man claiming to be from Singtel. The man said that he had detected an abnormality in Li's laptop's network and that she needed to download a software to fix it.
After Li downloaded the software, the man took control of her laptop and opened a fake police report webpage. The webpage stated that Li's IP address had been stolen and that she was being investigated for a crime.
A few minutes later, a man claiming to be a police officer called Li and said that she had been hacked. The officer told Li that she needed to create a virtual currency trading account in order to lure the hacker out.
Li was convinced by the scammer and transferred $12,000 from her bank account to the virtual currency trading platform. The scammer then withdrew an additional $6,000 from Li's credit card.
Li later realized that she had been scammed after she saw that her bank account balance was zero. She filed a police report, but the money was not recovered.
Li's experience is a reminder that scammers can be very convincing. They often use official-sounding names and titles to make their victims believe that they are legitimate. If you receive a suspicious phone call, hang up and do not give out any personal information. You can also verify the caller's identity by calling the company or organization they claim to be from.
Here are some tips to help you avoid being scammed:
👉 Never give out personal information, such as your Social Security number, credit card number, or bank account number, over the phone.
👉 Be wary of callers who ask you to pay a bill or transfer money using a wire transfer or gift card.
👉 If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from a government agency, hang up and call the agency directly to verify the caller's identity.
👉 Do not click on links or open attachments in emails from people you do not know.
👉 Keep your software up to date with the latest security patches.
👉 Use a strong password and change it regularly.
👉 Be careful about what information you share on social media.
Finally, If you think you have been scammed, report it to the police immediately.