I’ve recently been getting a call from a robot claiming to be from MOH. Apparently they have tried to call me ‘many times but no response’.

It’s pretty annoying because I run a business and therefore have to pick up every time I get a call from an unknown number (I don’t trust enough that a +65 code automatically means it’s a scam).

Does anyone here know how this scam works? If I press 1 for English, will that put me on some premium pay call that adds hundreds of dollars to my phone bill, or is it just going to take me to someone who wants my personal/bank details?

Asking because I would just really love to waste someone’s time.

Netizens’ comments

After you pressed one, they will transfer you to a Chinese speaking person who asked you what they can do for you. This is dumb as they are the one who called you in the first place.Anyway, when I feel it I will play along. I wil give my name which is obviously a fake to any Singaporeans, like Chan Kee Chiu, or Pinky Lee Ah Long. They won’t have a clue. If it is an Indian sounding person, I will give my name as “Far Kyo Urmum” and my email is “my name without the blank” @gmail.com. It will take a while but they get it.Use your imagination and just play along. No need to get angry as you are just having fun.In most cases I couldn’t be bothered and just declined any +65 calls.

A +65 on a telephone line is almost 100% a scam. It’s only through digital call-over-internet services where normal people need to transmit the country code to another local number. If they are dialing you from a Singapore number (+65) to you in Singapore though the telephone networks (not whatsapp), they would not be using an international service to do so because it’s expensive.If you see the +65 this means it is an international call with caller ID spoofing. There are a few legitimate uses for this, mostly overseas customer support services for local companies, but if you’re getting called out of nowhere from a +65 number it is almost certainly a scammer trying to pretend to be Singaporean when they are likely sitting in a call center in Yunnan or whatever.Whatever you press, you’ll get connected to a Chinese scammer. The button press isn’t for language – it’s to screen out automated answers, answering machines, and missed calls due to the automated cold call system. When you press 1 or 2 they know an actual human is on the line, so they redirect you to their human scammer.Then they’ll hand you their spiel where they claim you have to pay a fine or whatever and convince you to transfer money to them. The scamming itself is profoundly unsophisticated and works by cold-calling massive numbers of people and hoping for the naive exception who will believe them. In fact, answering a +65 number is the first screening step for the gullible, and pressing the language button is the second. The pool of those who do both is prime material for being scammed.