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People in Singapore are getting scammed by selling their old bank notes and coins.

The police said in a release on Nov. 9 that they have observed a resurgence of such scams involving the sale of old bank notes and coins.

Since September 2021, at least S$30,000 have been lost to such scams.

Modus operandi

The scammers would typically approach the victims through Instagram, expressing interest in purchasing old bank notes and coins from the victims.

To gain the victims’ trust, the scammers would share screen shots with the victims that showed purported successful purchases of old bank notes and coins made with other sellers.

In addition, the scammers would also provide photographs and identification documents purportedly of themselves, such as of their foreign driving licence, as proof of a legitimate identity.

Upon receiving the old bank notes and coins, the scammers would then claim to face issues with the payment to the victims and request for the victims to make administrative fee payments via gift cards.

The victims only realised that they had been scammed when the scammers became uncontactable after receiving the one-time code for the gift cards.

Advisory

Members of the public are advised to follow these crime prevention measures:

a) Be wary of unexpected requests or offers from strangers via social media;

b) Always opt to transact via the in-platform secured payment channel, if this option is available;

c) Do not provide PINs or serial codes of online shopping credits to strangers.

If you have information related to such crimes or if you are in doubt, you can dial 999 for urgent assistance, call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit a report online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688.

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