Police warn of new tactic used in phone scams
By Dreamer
Following a spate of phone scams involving impersonators, police are now warning against a new tactic used by scammers.
In a Facebook post, police said they have been informed of numerous cases where members of the public received phone calls from people impersonating Government officials or representatives of courier companies, who then instruct them to download certain applications on their mobile phones.
Police said these applications, when downloaded, may introduce malware into devices that could in turn allow the scammers to gain access to incoming messages. This could then lead to the theft of important information, such as banking credentials and other personal details.
Police also reminded members of the public that no Government agency would ask for payment or personal information - such as bank usernames, passwords or one-time password (OTP) codes - through a phone call.
Police have advised members of the public to be wary when receiving calls of unknown origin, and to do the following:
- Ignore such calls;
- Do not follow the caller's instructions to install applications onto their phone;
- Do not give out personal information or bank details, whether on the website or to callers over the phone;
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