Your maid, especially the one coming to work for the first time in Singapore might easily falls into scam. Here are some tips for them to prevent them falling prey.
Protect Yourself Against WhatsApp Account Takeover Scams
You may receive WhatsApp messages appearing to be from a friend or family member that requests for you to send over a six-digit verification code which was sent to you accidentally. Do not respond to these as you may lose your WhatsApp account.
Here’s how you can prevent yourself from falling prey to such scam:
- Beware of unusual requests received over WhatsApp, even if they were sent by your WhatsApp contacts.
- Never share your WhatsApp account verification codes, personal information, bank account or credit/debit card details and OTP to anyone, including family and friends.
- Enable the ‘Two-Step Verification’ feature – Open WhatsApp and go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Account’ > ‘Two-step Verification’ > ‘Enable’
- Change your voicemail account’s default PIN to avoid easy access by scammers. If you have no use of the voicemail account, contact your telco to deactivate the feature.
Beware of Phishing Scams involving Impersonation of the Government Agencies or Banks
Such scams usually involves a phone call from someone claiming to be from the organisation.
Look out for “+” numbers
Phone number with “+” usually indicate that the call was made from overseas. Be careful when answering calls with number like this, especially if you are not expecting any overseas calls from your family members. If the call has a “+65” prefix number, ignore them.
Do not give confidential information to anyone
Do not disclose personal details, banking and debit card details to anyone. Never share your one-time passwords (OTPs) with anyone.
No government agencies or banks will ask you for your personal particulars, or to perform bank transfers over the phone or through robocalls (automated voice machines).
Beware of Online Loan Scams
Receive a text message/WhatsApp message offering loan service? Are you instructed to transfer a sum of money as a deposit before the loan can be disbursed? These may be signs of a loan scam.
Prevent yourself from falling prey to these scams with the following steps:
- Do not respond to loan advertisements on messaging platforms as these are usually from unlicensed money syndicates.
- Always IGNORE, BLOCK AND REPORT unsolicited loan advertisements on WhatsApp or through third party applications.
- Do not give your personal information like bank account number or passport number to strangers.
- Do not transfer your hard-earned money to strangers.
Be alert of the Cash-on Delivery Scams during Great Singapore Sale
The cash-on delivery (COD) scam lures customers to pay in cash for parcels that
- They did not buy; or
- Di not match what they purchased
Victims often find themselves paying for junk items. By then, the delivery person has gotten away with the money.
To prevent it, you should never pay for items that you did not buy and reject to pay for any suspicious parcel.
Do not fall into love scams
Scammers like to befriend and develop a relationship with their victims on social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram.
Once the scammer has your attention, they may do the following:
- Request you to pay for the release of his parcel which has been detained by the authorities.
- Ask you to transfer money to them as they face financial difficulties. The amount may increase over time. Eventually the scammer will become uncontactable.
Do not be fooled by such love scams!
If you are in doubt, call the Anti-Scam hotline at 1800-722 6688.
Source: MOM Website
