SINGAPORE — If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), asking you to transfer money so as to stay in Singapore, it’s a scam.
The MOM released a statement on Friday (June 17) about bogus phone calls from persons posing an MOM or a government officer.
The ministry was alerted by members of the public who had received suspicious calls from a person claiming to be an MOM or government officer, and asking them to transfer money to an account to resolve issues related to their stay in Singapore or work pass application.
The phone number displayed on the receiver’s phone was that of the MOM Contact Centre’s hotline: 6438 5122.
“This is a scam,” the ministry said.
“Our officers will not make such calls to request for fund transfers. We have advised the affected individuals to lodge police reports,” it added.
Other similar types of scams that have been reported include calls from persons claiming to be employees from courier companies or banks in China, and told that their identities have been used to send parcels containing fake passports or weapons; or were used to apply for overseas credit cards.
They would then be referred to another caller claiming to be a customs officer, a police officer or a government official from China and asked to provide their personal particulars including their name, identification number, address, passport number and bank account numbers.
Some victims were threatened with legal action and instructed to remit money to China so that the authorities will not pursue the matter.
To date, the victims of this “China officials” scam have lost more than S$4 million scam.
The ministry advised members of public who receive such calls to note that MOM will not ask to make a payment through a telephone call, especially to a third party’s bank account, advising the public to ignore such a call.
It also advised not to transfer any money and provide personal information and to call the Singapore Police hotline at 1800 255 0000 if they have information related to such incidents.
“We take such incidents seriously, as they undermine public trust in MOM,” said the ministry.
news source: todayonline.com
