S’poreans Lose $65,000 To Bank Card Reactivation Calls, Police Warn Not To Share Personal Details

$65,000 Lost In New Bank Card ‘Reactivation’ Scam

Text messages, phone calls or even a click on a website aren’t safe anymore, now that scammers can make use of them.

According to The Straits Times, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) has issued a statement on Monday (25 Nov) warning the public of a new scam involving bank card and account reactivation.

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SPF has received 12 reports of the same scam in November alone, with losses adding up to a shocking $65,000.

Victims told to reactivate bank card via phone call

Victims’ reports stated that they first received an SMS informing them of one of these 3 situations:

• Blocked bank cards
• Deactivated bank cards
• Locked bank accounts

To regain control of their accounts, they’d have to dial a phone number given in the SMS.

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The victims did so, thinking a bank staff was on the other end of the line. The ‘staff’ would then request for their personal and internet banking details such as their one-time passwords.

The victims later found that unauthorised transactions had been made from their accounts.

Don’t share personal details via phone calls

In light of the string of unfortunate incidents, SPF has advised the public to be wary of calls or messages that claim to be from the bank.

Even if the number resembles the bank’s, it’s always best to double check as scammers may mask their actual numbers.

One way is to call the number on the respective bank websites and ask whether the authentication request is genuine.

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Most importantly, the public shouldn’t give away their personal banking details via phone calls if they hadn’t made any prior transactions.

Those who wish to provide more information of these types of scams may contact the SPF on 1800-255-0000, or visit www.police.gov.sg/iwitness to submit relevant information.

For the rest of us, let this be a reminder to be more careful with our personal data, which we should safeguard strictly.

Featured image adapted from Derbi Foundation.