Ad copy

A customer in her late 40s recently almost lost her entire hard-earned savings after falling victim to an elaborate impersonation ruse! She was shocked to receive a call from a fake foreign government official claiming that they intercepted a suspicious package containing 250 pills addressed to her. Fearing that she would face legal trouble, she downloaded an ‘anti-virus’ phishing app as instructed by the scammer and divulged her personal and banking information. She felt further coerced into transferring all her money to the scammer, including prematurely terminating her Fixed Deposit accounts across various banks, to prove that the funds were acquired through legal means. While waiting for assistance at the branch, the customer noticed there was a digital poster on the walls, educating customers about ongoing scams and signs of fraud. It was in that moment when she realized she could be a victim of a scam. Personal Wealth Team Head Kuek Vee Han noticed the customer’s distress, and with the assistance of Assistant Branch Manager Emilita Lim, probed the customer further and learned that she was pressured by the scammers under the fear of legal consequences, even though she has never actually made a purchase for the alleged pills. They eventually persuaded the customer not to proceed with the transaction. Reflecting on the incident, Vee Han shared that paying more attention to customers can help to uncover the tell-tale signs of a scam and prevent further distress and loss. “We always spend a little more effort for customers to feel our warmth, no matter how busy we are. Rather than simply going about our day-to-day, processing the documents like any other customer.” This close call serves as a reminder of the growing sophistication of scams, where scammers utilise impersonation, phishing tools and psychological pressure for their gains. One way to better protect customers against digital scams is Money Lock whereby customers can easily activate it on UOB TMRW app. Simply go to ‘Services’ tab > Select ‘Money Lock’. For more information, please visit uob.com.sg/security. Lastly, we commend Vee Han and Emilita Lim for preventing the scam and having demonstrated our UOB values to do #RightByYou. #LifeAtUOB #ScamPreventionStories 📷 Personal Wealth Team Head Kuek Vee Han and Assistant Branch Manager Emilita Lim