Scammer Impersonates ICA Officer & Attempts To Trick Victims With Hypnotherapy
Of late, scammers have become increasingly innovative and sophisticated with their methods, which include issuing fake CPF letters.
Scam Alert On ‘Fake’ CPF Letter Is Actually False, CPF Board Says Document Is Legitimate
Recently, a scammer resorted to hypnotherapy techniques in a bid to impersonate officers from Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
Thankfully, one of the targets was a trained hypnotherapist herself and narrowly avoided being scammed.
Scammer posed as an ICA officer & says parcel was detained
The Straits Times (ST) reported that on Wednesday (16 Mar), Ms Kang, a life coach, received a call from a man posing as an ICA officer.
He accused her of illegally importing remdesivir, a Covid-19 antiviral drug, without a license.
The scammer then informed her that her parcel was detained by Shanghai Customs and that they had notified ICA.
Interestingly, the person over the phone was able to provide details about the parcel, including the courier service and its destination
He even threatened to summon her to ICA Headquarters on the same day unless she complied with his orders.
He tried tricking her with a soothing voice
Turns out, Ms Kang recognised the hypnotherapy techniques he was using because she is a trained hypnotherapist herself, ST reported.
She shared that he spoke with a soothing voice while asking her repeatedly whether she shared her NRIC with anyone.
According to Ms Kang, in hypnotherapy, repetition of phrases can induce someone into a trance-like state. This not only makes one more vulnerable to manipulation but also changes their perception of past events.
Thankfully, he was unable to trick her due to her experience with hypnotherapy.
She ended the call by telling him that she would be lodging a police report.
ICA is aware of this new scam
In a statement to ST, ICA said they’re aware of the new scam which involves scammers calling people using the number “+65 6391 6100”. It is similar to ICA’s hotline number, 6391 6100.
Scammers would tell potential victims that they have visa issues or that their parcels were detained due to illegal importation. They would then ask for their particulars, such as NRIC or work pass numbers.
ICA said it takes such scams seriously because it undermines the public perceptions of them.
They advised the public to ignore such calls as well as the caller’s instructions,
You may be overwhelmed by emotion and may err in your judgment. Do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively.
Staying vigilant against scams
Given the sharp spike of scam cases recently, it’s especially important for everyone to remain alert and vigilant against them.
We urge everyone to verify phone numbers before sharing any sensitive information.
If you have any information related to such scams, you can report them through the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit them via SPH’s website.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Google Maps and Matteo Fusco on Unsplash.
