The authorities have constantly warned the public to be vigilant about scammers. But as Singaporeans get warier, scammers have also constantly evolved and upped their game.
Back in November, a netizen took to Facebook to warn netizens about a phone scam involving a man donning what appears to be police uniform with a hat brandishing a New York Yankees logo.
After hearing about how his baseball hat was a dead giveaway, the man appeared to have improved his disguise.
A scammer, suspected to be the same man, now wears a cap with an Adidas logo and buttons his ‘police uniform’ all the way up.
In end-November, the scammer who posed as a Singapore police officer wearing a New York Yankees cap went viral.
After receiving a slew of criticisms pointing out how easy it was to identify him as a scammer, many suspect that he has reappeared with an improved disguise.
On Wednesday (8 Dec), a photo shared on Facebook shows what appears to be the same man, now with his ‘uniform’ buttoned all the way up.
He also wore a blue lanyard, presumably to further legitimise his look.
The cap that was previously embellished with a fake Singapore Police Force (SPF) and New York Yankees logo now appears to be a plain black cap with slight hints of a white logo.
The scammer also seems to have trimmed his previously bushy eyebrows and neatened them up.
He also appears to be wearing the same type of mask, with a valve on it.
But if it was the same man, he has certainly improved on his unkempt appearance.
However, another photo shared on Facebook shows that he might still need a little more work on his get-up.
Taken with the same ‘Singapore Police Force’ backdrop, the man’s uniform appears to be made of denim — an instant giveaway.
But once again, the most obvious sign is the cap that laid atop his head — this time clearly showing an Adidas logo.
There is no confirmation that this is the same scammer that appeared back in November.
However, both scammers seem to operate in the same manner, calling their victims via WhatsApp.
While the previous scammer used a profile picture of several policemen, the ‘new scammer’ has chosen to use a picture of the SPF logo.
Regardless whether they are the same person, such scams involving individuals posing as police officers are getting increasingly common.
According to the SPF, scammers would typically call through messaging applications and have profile pictures of police officers.
From there, they would request victims for their bank details, credit card details, and One-Time-Password (OTP), under the guise of banking issues.
The police urged the public to be vigilant and not to disclose any personal information to anyone.
Such scams involving individuals impersonating police officers are serious and punishable by law.
They might also erode public confidence in our police who work day in and out to keep Singapore safe.
If you happen to receive such scam calls yourself, report it to the police at 1800-255-0000 or submit a report via iWitness here.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from De Long Ang on Facebook, SgFollowsAll on Instagram, and Lid Wati Hassan on Facebook.
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