Singapore General Hospital warns of WhatsApp messages impersonating senior management in ‘gift card purchase’ scam

A screengrab on SGH’s Facebook post on April 27 showed a scam WhatsApp message requesting the recipient to purchase gift cards on behalf of the hospital’s senior management. — Unsplash

SINGAPORE: Scammers have been posing as senior management from Singapore General Hospital (SGH) in a bid to get people to buy gift cards on their behalf.

A screengrab on SGH’s Facebook post on April 27 showed a scam WhatsApp message requesting the recipient to purchase gift cards on behalf of the hospital’s senior management.

The Straits Times understands that the recipient is an SGH staff member.

“It has been brought to our attention that fake messages, presumably from SGH senior management, requesting to purchase gift cards on their behalf are circulating on WhatsApp,” said SGH’s Facebook post.

“SGH would like to emphasise that our senior management will never make such requests or solicit any sales.”

The Facebook post also highlighted these signs to identify fake messages:

• It is from an overseas number with the “+” prefix.
• There is usually a sense of urgency requesting you to “act now”.
• The scammer will use a photo of SGH senior management as the profile picture.

SGH added that a police report has been made. It also urged people to stay vigilant and not fall prey to such scams. – The Straits Times (Singapore)/Asia News Network