Victims will a call from unknown overseas numbers informing them that they had won a lucky draw. They are then instructed to pay various “fees and charges” in order to claim the lucky draw winnings. When the victims decline to do so, they will be threatened with being referred to the Police and a picture of a Police report and/or photograph of Police officers in uniform would be sent to them. In one of the actual case, the victim was told to contact someone who claimed to be an officer from the Singapore Police Force. Between January and November 2019, at least three cases have been reported, with at least $1,600 cheated.

Prevention measures:

Be wary of unsolicited messages or calls, especially if you have not participated in any lucky draw. Ignore any instructions provided by the caller/message sender to make payments by remitting money or purchasing online credits and gift cards. Winning a lucky draw should not require any payments to be made to claim the prize. 

1. Don’t panic – If the call involves a government official, pls note that no government agency will request for transfer of money, personal details or bank account login credentials over the phone. Always call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. You may be overwhelmed by emotion and err in your judgment.

2. Don’t believe – Scammers may use caller ID spoofing technology to mask the actual phone number and display a different number. Calls that appear to be from a local number may not actually be made from Singapore. If you receive a suspicious call from a local number, hang up, wait a while, then call the number back to check the validity of the request.

3. Don’t give – Do not provide your name, identification number, passport details, contact details, bank account or credit card details, and One-Time-Password (OTP) to anyone. Such information is useful to criminals.

Please share this with your loved ones and friends. You might help prevent them from becoming the next victim. 

Lucky draw scams can take many forms, so do stay alert and not get trapped by scammers: