SINGAPORE, June 23 — Logistics firm Ninja Van has warned the public of a scam going around on WhatsApp involving people pretending to be its employees.

It said in a statement on Friday (June 23) that it was made aware of an incident involving a victim who was misled into taking part in a WhatsApp survey.

From information gathered so far, victims would receive these unsolicited WhatsApp messages from a foreign phone number pretending to be a Ninja Van employee.

Earlier this week, food delivery and reservation platform Oddle Eats sent an email to its customers warning of a scam with a similar approach.

Ninja Van said that it has since posted a public advisory against the WhatsApp scam on its website.

"We strongly advise the public not to respond to these messages or click on any accompanying links,” it added.

How the scam works

On June 6, a victim received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number, purporting to be from Ninja Van, and was asked to complete a survey.

After doing the survey, the victim was instructed to contact someone on the Telegram messaging application.

On Telegram, the individual asked for the victim’s phone number to perform a PayNow e-payment transfer. The victim obliged and shared the contact number.

After this, the victim received S$15 (RM51) via PayNow from an account linked to an individual named "Ayu Yuliana Binte Zahari”.

"Fortunately, the victim did not make any monetary transactions to the scammers,” Ninja Van said.

It added that despite the perpetrator’s persistent efforts to lure the victim into joining a Telegram chat group for more survey opportunities, the victim refrained from taking part.

Ninja Van’s representative accompanied the victim to file a police report on June 14.

Acting against scams

In its alert today, Ninja Van advised the public to remain vigilant and to adopt the following precautionary measures.

1. ADD: Download the Scamshield mobile app and set up security features. Enable two-factor or multi-factor authentication for banks, social media and Singpass accounts Set transaction limits on internet banking transactions, including PayNow
2. CHECK: Check for signs of scams with official sources. Ninja Van Singapore would only contact customers via official channels, such as its official social messaging system NinjaChat, its verified social media and WhatsApp accounts, or its email addresses that end with ‘ninjavan.co’
3. TELL: Alert the authorities, family and friends about scams. Report the scammers to the relevant authorities. Ninja Van added that customers may contact its customer service in Singapore at +65 6602 8271 or chat with its live agents over NinjaChat for help.

For more information on scams, the public may check out www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688.

The public may also call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit online requests at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness for information relating to such crimes. — TODAY