Consular Updates

Email Scam on Destitute Singaporeans

Dear fellow Singaporeans,

There has been a number of email scams targeting Singaporeans recently.

The scams typically involve fake emails sent by relatives or friends claiming to be in distress while travelling in a foreign country and are in need of emergency funds. The scammers have a programme that enables them to extract information from receipients' email address books to generate such fake emails. Recipients of the fraudulent distress email are usually acquaintances of the 'victim' or have not been in recent contact with the 'victim'. Some e-mails would also mention that the 'victim' had not received any assistance from the Singapore Embassy or Consulate in the foreign country. To avoid verification, the emails usually do not provide telephone contacts of the 'victims' and claim that their mobile phones had been robbed.

If you receive any such suspicious e-mails, it is advisable to contact the 'victim' by telephone (or any other way) to verify the information. You may also want to consider whether to respond to such e-mails in the first place, as there may be a chance of divulging information that may be subsequently abused.

With best wishes,

Singapore Consulate-General in Shanghai