SINGAPORE – Victims have lost at least $6.7 million in at least 78 reports of technical support scams since the start of 2024, the police said.

In an advisory issued on March 15, the police said that in these cases, victims would receive pop-ups on their computers claiming that their devices had been compromised.

The pop-up alerts would include contact numbers for victims to call for technical support.

When victims called these numbers, scammers impersonating Microsoft or Apple employees would claim that the victims’ devices had been compromised by hackers and used for illegal activities.

The scammers would instruct victims to access websites or download software that would grant scammers remote access to their devices.

The call would then be forwarded to another scammer posing as a law enforcement officer.

These fake officers would remotely access the victims’ computers and pretend to help them lodge a fake police report through a scam website.

The scammers would claim that victims had to log into their Internet banking accounts in order for them to nab the hackers.

After the victims log in to their bank accounts, the scammers would use the remote access to make unauthorised transactions.

In some cases, scammers would guide victims to create cryptocurrency accounts or provide one-time passwords to authorise fraudulent transactions.

Victims would realise they had been scammed when they discovered that unauthorised transfers or deductions had been made from their bank accounts.

The police advised the public to uninstall any software that was downloaded under the scammer’s instructions, and then turn off the device to limit the illicit activities.

Apart from changing their Internet banking credentials and removing any unauthorised payees that may have been added to their bank accounts, victims should also inform their banks and the police of the incident.

The public should also perform a full anti-virus scan of their computer, and delete any malware detected.

The police urged the public to download the ScamShield app on their mobile devices and enable security features such as two-factor authentication, or multi-factor authentication for banks, and transaction limits for Internet banking transactions.

The public should be wary of unsolicited calls from dubious people. Do not follow their instructions to install apps, type commands into devices, log in to bank accounts or reveal personal information.

The police encouraged the public to tell the authorities, family and friends about scams, as well as report any fraudulent transactions to their banks immediately.

Those with information about such scams can call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or visit www.police.gov.sg/iwitness

For information on scams, visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688.