'Bank card! Bank card!': S'porean woman overhears scam call on MRT, intervenes & helps victim hang up - Mothership

On Sep. 17, a Singaporean woman overheard what seemed to be a scam call on the MRT.

Noticing that her fellow commuter appeared distressed, she made the decision to intercept the possible scam.

In an Instagram post, Vit Olivia Ng, 29, shared about her experience.

Speaking to Mothership, Ng said that she noticed a woman who appeared to be in her late thirties looking "distressed" while speaking on a video call.

The conversation was loud enough for her to overhear, and she noted that the tone of the caller sounded particularly rude.

In the video, Ng said that she felt that something was wrong when the woman began to show her passport on the call, with the other side demanding "Bank card! Bank card!".

Concerned that the woman was about to fall victim to a scam call, Ng decided to approach her and intervene.

She also recorded the whole interaction.

In the video, Ng could be heard telling the woman: "Sorry sis, I think it's a scam call."

She helped the victim hang up the call and told her not to show her personal documents to anyone in future.

According to Ng, the speaker on the line was a man dressed as a police officer with a purple backdrop and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) logo.

She later learnt that the woman was a Filipino national, who had just arrived in Singapore three weeks prior to seek employment.

"I think she was fearful of offending the 'Singapore Police' or breaking the law, so I believe not much convincing was needed for her to show her passport...

As a foreigner, I believe it’s understandable to feel fearful when you receive a call from someone claiming to be a government official, especially when they say they are from the police."

Ng told Mothership that the victim was "very thankful and relieved".

After the incident, she sat with the woman and explained the common scams in Singapore so that she could be aware of them in the future.

She also passed the woman her contact so she could reach out if she needed help in Singapore.

Ng added that she hopes to spread awareness of such incidents.

"Scams can happen to anyone, so I hope we can continue spreading awareness, looking out for one another, and helping prevent others from becoming victims," she said.