It was National Day evening. Retired kindergarten operator Mary (not her real name) and her husband were watching the parade on TV when her phone started ringing incessantly.
She ignored the first few calls from the unfamiliar Malaysian number, but they kept coming. Assuming it was urgent, she finally answered.
The woman on the line recited Mary’s full name and identity card number and claimed to represent a moneylending company. She demanded payment for an outstanding debt.
“I didn’t owe anyone any money at all, so I just hung up,” Mary recalls. Immediately, calls from other numbers came in rapid succession. As soon as she declined one, another rang. Then came the WhatsApp messages.
One message from a Philippine number read:…