The Singapore Police Force ( SPF ) announced on Friday ( Mar 29 ) that nine people are helping police with their suspected involvement in technical support scams.
The suspects, eight people and one female aged between 32 and 57, are believed to have facilitated like schemes by “receiving cash”.
Following a Monday-to-Tuesday anti-fraud activity conducted by SPF’s Professional Affairs Department and the seven authorities land divisions, they were identified.
SPF said it had received at least 78 accounts of technical support schemes since January, with patients ‘ loss totalling about S$ 6.7 million ( US$ 5 million ).
In these , schemes, sufferers do get roll- ups on their computers saying that their devices had been compromised. These roll- ups may contain phone numbers that victims could , contact to acquire “technical support”.
A victim may call a scammer who posed as a Microsoft or Apple staff and tell them that their device had been hacked by “hackers” and used for illegal purposes.
The cheater may therefore train them , to get a website , or download software that may give the scammer remote access to the target ‘s , system.
According to SPF, the visit may be forwarded to a different scammer who allegedly works as a law enforcement officer and pretends to assist the victim in submitting a false police record through a fake website.
The swindlers would then ask the sufferer to use the excuse of helping to catch the “hackers” to register into an internet bank account.
When the sufferer was logged in, the swindlers would use the remote access feature to use the victim’s bank accounts for illegal purchases.
SPF claimed that in some cases, the con artists do advise victims to set up bitcoin accounts or give one-time passwords to encrypt online banking transactions.
Victims may eventually discover illegal transfers or conclusions from their bank accounts and realize they had been defrauded.
Initial studies following the anti-fraud function revealed that the majority of the nine folks being looked into “had supposedly facilitated the scams through receiving monies apparently for the purpose of crypto trading,” according to SPF.
If you think you’ve fallen prey to a professional help scam, police advise the public to take the next actions:
- Switch off your computer right away to prevent the swindlers from carrying out any additional activities.
- Uninstall any technology that , the swindlers instructed you to , place.
- Run a thorough virus check of your system to remove any malware that has been found.
- Report the incident to your lender so that no longer goes on with your compromised bank accounts.
- Change your online banking passwords and delete any unapproved payees from your bank account.
- Report the incident to , the authorities.