At least $3m lost to impersonation scams involving WhatsApp screen sharing since June
At least $3 million has been lost to impersonation scams involving the WhatsApp screen-sharing function since June. In a statement released on Thursday (June 26), the police confirmed that at least 46 police reports have been lodged. According to the police, in this variant of the scam, victims receive unsolicited calls from local mobile numbers, allegedly from companies such as NTUC Income, NTUC Union, or UnionPay.Scammers would then claim that there were issues with insurance plans that the victims had supposedly purchased.When victims denied purchasing these policies, they would then be directed to a second scammer impersonating an officer from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. This second scammer would inform the victims that their bank accounts had been implicated in money-laundering activities and instruct them to transfer their money to a «safety account» for safekeeping.Victims were then guided through internet banking transfers via WhatsApp's screen-sharing function, inadvertently exposing their bank account and internet banking details.