SINGAPORE: The police on Thursday (Feb 29) issued an advisory warning members of the public against fund recovery scams that claim to be able to help people recover money lost to investment and other scams.
At least 29 cases have been reported since January, with losses amounting to at least S$1.2 million (US$892,389), they said.
The general common approach – or modus operandi – of such scams involve scammers impersonating legal firms or financial services companies and contacting victims through calls, messages or emails offering to assist in the recovery of funds lost due to scams or investments.
In other cases, the victims would come across “fund recovery services” advertised online, such as on Facebook, and contact the scammers for their “services”.
After the first contact, victims would then be instructed to make upfront payments via bank transfers, cryptocurrencies or virtual credits, with the scammers claiming these as part of “administrative procedures”.
“In some instances, scammers may request victims’ banking credentials, debit or credit card details, or one-time passwords (OTPs) and use their information to access the victims’ bank accounts,” the police said.
In other cases, scammers would ask victims to download remote access software such as AnyDesk, which gives them access to the victims’ devices and their bank accounts after the download.