SINGAPORE - Mr Christopher Ong received a call in late 2020 from a Mandarin-speaking fraudster who claimed he was from delivery firm DHL's"Chinese department" and asked for his banking details to redeem a high-value parcel.Mr Ong, 48, immediately realised he was speaking to a swindler as his company does not have such a department.
He told The Straits Times:"I wanted to understand their mode of operation so I can educate our people on how scammers worked.Mr Ong recalled this incident as he spoke about DHL's campaign to distribute anti-scam notices to some 600,000 delivery customers from October to December last year to educate the public about scams.
In DHL's first collaboration with the police, the firm stuck the notices on parcels urging customers to be wary of suspicious online deals and sellers who insist on payment outside the sales platform. Mr Ong noted that the company received more calls about scams as more shoppers turned to online platforms amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and was worried that there would be a surge in scams as Christmas drew near.