S'pore police warns of scams targeting personnel from parcel & food delivery companies

Beware.

Siti Hawa | April 13, 2021, 04:52 PM

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has alerted the public of a scam that targets delivery personnel from parcel and food delivery companies.

Victims receive cash-on-delivery order

The police said in an advisory on Apr. 13 that victims of the scams would receive a cash-on-delivery order via their company's delivery application.

The scammer would then request for the victims' handphone number via the company's delivery application, under the guise of making payment for the delivery.

Scammers would also claim that this request is for the purpose of transferring money to the victim via PayLah!.

Photo via SPF

The victims would receive a One-Time Password (OTP), followed by a prompt to log in to their PayLah! account and enter their OTP, all while assuming that this step is needed to receive payment for delivery.

Photo via SPF

Subsequently, they would receive a notification that their PayLah! account has been linked to a Google Pay account.

Photo via SPF

When the delivery personnel arrives at the delivery location, they would realise that there is no one to receive the delivery.

Soon after, they would find out about the unknown transactions on their bank accounts.

Patrick Teo, Engineering Director for Payments, Google, reiterated to Mothership that people do not need to link their bank accounts to Google Pay to receive money.

“We want to remind everyone that you do not need to link your bank accounts to Google Pay to receive money. You will need to link accounts only when sending money from Google Pay. ”

Crime prevention measures

The public is advised to take note of the following crime prevention measures:

  • Always confirm the transactions you are making before keying in your OTP
  • Inform your bank immediately if your PayLah! account has been linked to other accounts without your authorisation
  • Report any fraudulent transactions made on your bank accounts to your bank immediately

For more information on scams, visit here or call the anti-scam hotline at 1800-722-6688.

Top photos via SPF