SINGAPORE – At least 498 people have lost no less than $25.5 million to investment scams since June this year.
They would first build rapport before introducing “investment opportunities”, which the victims were inclined to believe, following their instructions in making transactions. However, they would realise they were duped only when they could not withdraw their “profits” or contact the scammers. In some cases, the victims were redirected to a fraudulent investment website, where they had to register with their personal particulars.Similarly, they realised that they were victims of scams only when they were unable to withdraw their supposed profits or contact the scammers.
However, it gave backdoor access to scammers, who could then remotely access their victims’ devices and withdraw money from their bank accounts. The scammers had instructed the victims to log into their Singpass and access their CPF, and made use of remote access software to control their devices.“As CPF withdrawals can only be paid to a bank account verified to belong to CPF members, scammers will request victims to login into their bank accounts,” the police said, adding that the scammers gave instructions to transfer the withdrawn money to other bank accounts.