SINGAPORE – The police are warning the public to be careful of a type of scam involving con men who pretend to be the victims’ superiors and asking them through e-mail to buy gift cards.
Since Jan 1, at least 25 cases with total losses amounting to at least $30,000 have been reported, said the police on Jan 28.
In e-mails to victims, the scammers would alter their display names to appear as the victims’ chief executive or supervisor, and deceive the victims into urgently buying gift cards from companies such as Razer Gold, Apple or Xbox for work purposes using their own money.
The scammers would then assure the victims that they would later be reimbursed by the company.
The victims would also be told to give the scammers the redemption codes on the gift cards that scammers would later use.
The victims would later discover that they had been conned after checking with their colleagues.
The police advised companies to brief staff on this scam variant, especially new employees and interns.
Employees should be wary of any urgent requests to purchase gift cards, especially in large quantities.
They should also always verify with others through phone calls, text messages or other communication channels before proceeding with any out-of-ordinary instructions sent via e-mail.
The scammer will pose as the victim’s chief executive or supervisor.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
Businesses should always make work-related communications through official channels such as company e-mails, the police reminded, adding that the sender’s e-mail address should correspond to the legitimate e-mail address of the person they claim to be.
To prevent an e-mail account from being hacked, people should use strong passwords, change them regularly and enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).
Using free e-mail authentication tools such as Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance, or
DMARC
, which can help detect fraudulent e-mails and prevent such e-mails from reaching users’ inboxes, is also advised.
Lastly, the police advised people to install anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewalls on computers and keep them updated.
For more information on scams, visit
www.scamshield.gov.sg
or call the ScamShield Helpline at 1799.
