Social Media Impersonation / Whatsapp Takeover Scam

Social Media Impersonation / Whatsapp Takeover Scam

As of December 2021

1614

victims

Have fallen prey to scammers

S$5.5

million

Total amount lost to scammers

S$1.0

million

Largest amount lost by an individual

WHAT IS A SOCIAL MEDIA IMPERSONATION SCAM?

The scammer pretends to be you by hacking into your social media accounts or messaging apps such as Whatsapp, and asking your friends/contacts to buy iTunes or other gift cards for them. They may also ask for personal, bank details and One-Time Passwords for online accounts (such as Lazada, Shopee, Qoo10) on the pretext of helping them sign up and/or claim prizes for fake lucky draws. Once scammers get hold of this information, they make unauthorised transactions on those accounts.

Look out for these scam signs

How to stay safe

Never disclose personal particulars, banking and credit card details and OTPs to anyone, especially over the phone. No government agencies will ask you for your personal details or bank transfers over the phone or through automated voice machines.
Cease communication immediately if you sense something is amiss. If an online friend asks for your personal information, confidential information or money, contact that friend through other channels such as a phone call to verify their request.
Do not click on URLs in unsolicited emails and text messages.
Do not share sensitive and personal information without verification. Never share confidential information such as OTPs or passwords with anyone.

If in doubt, speak to someone you trust to seek a second opinion.

Social Media Impersonation / Whatsapp Takeover Scam: Real Stories

02 Mar 2022 | Social Media Impersonation / Whatsapp Takeover Scam

A phone call prevented me from getting scammed

This scam uses the name of IDA, covid-19 as an excuse that we are able to claim some money if our business or livelihood gets affected by covid-19. Someone used my aunt's facebook account to send FB messenger…...

11 Feb 2022 | Social Media Impersonation / Whatsapp Takeover Scam

My Instagram account was taken over by scammer

Instagram acct was locked by the scammer and msgs was sent to my contacts asking people to join the investment...

23 Sep 2021 | Social Media Impersonation / Whatsapp Takeover Scam

Beware of people attempting to impersonate Lazada

There has been an Indian man calling claiming he's representing Lazada and that he received orders for expensive orders on Lazada, he therefore tries to get a confirmation code so that once you give it…...

GET SCAM-RELATED ADVICE: CALL 1800-722-6688 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, excl. PH)
GET SCAM-RELATED ADVICE:
CALL 1800-722-6688
(Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, excl. PH)
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