Man on video call with 'Cid Police' asked to show bank card, toys with scammer instead

A man from Singapore who accepted a video phone call from "Cid Police" was asked to present his bank card for "verification".

Having realised that it was a con, the man deftly evaded the request and strung the fake cop along for another minute before the call was eventually cut.

Facebook user Sunny Toh said last Saturday (April 18) that the scam call had come in as he was filming a separate, personal content for his TikTok account.

A clip he shared online begins with him showing an incoming Google Meet call from an account with the email "cidpolice859@gmail.com", using the Singapore Police Force logo as their display picture.

Toh answers the call, and the fraudster subsequently toggles on his camera to show himself in a police uniform and police cap against a blue backdrop.

The caller introduces himself as "Michael from Singapore CID police" and claims that "some people" have used the man's bank account and are attempting to transfer out $1,000.

"Your Singapore bank account is not safe, that's why we are calling to you," the fake cop says.

The scammer continues explaining that "verification" is needed before they cancel the transaction and asks if Toh's bank account is "already stolen".

When the man plays along and affirms that it is "stolen", "Michael" requests for him to switch on his video camera and show his Singapore bank card.

Toh cleverly turns the tables on the other party instead, saying: "It's already stolen, I don't have my ATM card with me."

Still, the caller persists in the ruse and asks which bank Toh has an account with.

"Oh, I have five to six bank accounts," he replies.

Last straw

"Michael" appears to grow frustrated at this point, warning Toh that he will lose his money if he does not co-operate.

In another attempt to fish for information, the swindler says his "system" shows that the affected account is a DBS bank account and reiterates the supposed transfer of money from that account.

"Yes, I have all the banks except DBS though," Toh quips.

The scammer then hangs up the call.

The man said in his Facebook post that the incident is a "good reminder that scams are getting smarter".

"We need to stay one step ahead and keep educating the people around us."

On April 19, the police issued an advisory warning of this scam variant, which has cheated at least 13 victims out of $32,000 since April 1. 

A Google spokesperson told AsiaOne that Google Meet users can toggle on the 'Only contacts can call me' setting to prevent unsolicited or anonymous calls. 

"We encourage users to report 'spam or abuse' directly within a call and report suspicious behaviour. This helps our systems learn and improve to combat scammers," the spokesperson said. 

"We encourage everyone to stay vigilant and use these features to stay safe online." 

The police have also repeatedly reminded the public that government officials will never ask anyone to transfer money over the phone, request bank details, transfer a call to the police, or instruct anyone to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores.  

If in doubt, members of the public should tell the authorities, family members or friends about the encounter and report any fraudulent transactions to their bank immediately. 

They may also call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.  

[[nid:734051]]

lim.kewei@asiaone.com