Every now and then, news advisories regarding new forms of scams are being disseminated to the public. This is especially important for all citizens because as technology keeps on becoming more advanced, it’s becoming more difficult for authorities alone to track activities (especially when done online) without any support or help from citizens.
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And since it is the general public which the police are try to protect against such scams, it’s important that we also take part in the police’s efforts in curtailing such incidences within our community.
SPF Warns Public Against Scammers Buying Outdated Currency Notes
On that note, the police shared that there have already been 17 cases of a scam involving individuals who pose as interested buyers of old currency notes, with at least SGD 44,000 collected in this manner since January 2019.
In a post shared by the Singapore Police Force, they explained that the scam typically starts by receiving a friend request on Facebook or a request to follow on Instagram from random people, who claim to be sellers of old currency notes.
Once the victims accept the request, the scammers would then message their victims and inform them that they are collectors of old currency notes, and then request to contact them.
In the post, the police shared that in some cases, the scammers would directly ask their victims if they have old notes to sell. Once the victims respond, the scammer would then offer to buy the old notes at high prices. The victims would then receive fake receipts from scammers as proof of successful payments and transactions they’ve had in the past to make them believe that they are credible collectors/buyers.
In other cases, victims would also get phone calls or messages from foreign enforcement agencies and banks telling them to transfer more money. In all of these cases, the victims were not given any payment.
In this regard, the police advised the public to observe the following crime prevention measures:
- Do not be quick to respond. Always take a moment to judge a situation. If a deal sounds too good to be true, chances are it probably is.
- Do not be quick to believe. Without proper authorization from qualified entities or departments, do not accept something (e.g. receipts) at face value.
- Do not be quick to give. Sharing one’s credit/payment information can leak invaluable information to your assets with today’s technology. Do not be so easy to fall for this trick, especially coming from strangers.
Those who wish to report any information related to this type of crime may contact the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit a report online at the Singapore Police Force (SPF)’s website and dial 999 for urgent Police assistance.