Watch out for phone scams impersonating OCBC Bank. There’s been a sudden, huge spike in the number of cases recently — the bank went from receiving 16 calls from customers on the matter in April to 1,081 in the first few weeks of July.
This one begins like any other phone scam, with an automated voice call that prompts the receiver for a response. English seems to be the language of choice here. The caller may appear as an overseas number, a private one or even OCBC’s official contact number (which is +65 6363 3333).
If you follow their instruction to key in a number, you’ll be patched through to a Mandarin-speaking individual with (what else) a non-local accent. The scammer will request for your personal or banking information, such as PIN and account numbers, which is ridiculous because the bank will not ask this of you in such a manner, neither will it demand for you to make a funds transfer.
When in doubt over the authenticity of a call, just hang up and contact the actual bank.
