Over $1.5 million lost so far to new tech support scams: Police
Since August, at least 21 cases of a new variant of technical support scams have been reported, the police warned in a press release on Wednesday.
In these scams, callers would impersonate staff of telecommunication service provider Singtel and the Singapore Police Force.
The cases so far have resulted in a loss of more than $1.5 million, it added.
The scammers impersonating Singtel staff would deceive victims saying there were issues with their modem or Internet connection.
Others would claim to represent the Cyber Crime Department of Singapore or the Cyber Police of Singapore and deceive victims saying they had committed a criminal offence.
They would then direct the victims to download and install software applications such as Teamviewer or AnyDesk onto their computers, leading them to believe it would help resolve the issues or assist in investigations.
Once the applications were installed, the scammers would use them to access the victims' computers remotely and ask victims to log into their online bank accounts.
When the victims were logged in, the scammers would transfer funds out of their bank accounts without their consent.
The police said people who fall for the scam should immediately turn off their computer and report the incident to their bank to stop further activities on their bank accounts.
Victims should change their Internet banking credentials and remove any unauthorised payee added to their bank accounts.
Members of the public should beware of calls from persons claiming to be these staff as scammers may use Caller ID spoofing technology to mask their phone numbers.
They are also advised not to provide any personal or bank details to callers as no telecommunication service provider or government agency will ask for such information.
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