Given the numerous scams encountered by Singaporeans in recent years, it’s natural for people to be sceptical when they receive unsolicited correspondence.
Many of these scams involve scammers posing as PM Lee Hsien Loong, trusted banks and established companies.
Lately, a message making the rounds is saying that a letter from DBS Bank is fraudulent — but the letter is actually legitimate, the bank said.
Source: DBS on Facebook
The bank has urged the public not to share or forward this message.
In a Facebook post on Friday (4 Aug), DBS said they’re aware of a message circulating over social media, WhatsApp and SMS.
It shares a photo of a letter with the DBS letterhead, claiming the missive is “fraudulent” despite looking “very legit”.
Source: DBS on Facebook
The message then advises the recipient to forward it to friends and family in Singapore.
Accordingly, WhatsApp would usually indicate that the message has been forwarded many times.
DBS clarified that the letter shown in the message is actually legitimate.
It seeks to inform customers who receive it that the bank has temporarily deactivated their Internet banking access, they said, adding that this happened,
… after detecting several unsuccessful log-in attempts, which is a precautionary measure we have in place to safeguard our customers against scammers.
Upon closer inspection of the letter, it warns that the customer’s Internet banking account will be closed if not reactivated within 90 days.
It also includes steps to take to reactivate the account, asking users to scan a QR code.
Source: WhatsApp
While people might have valid concerns about scanning QR codes as they might fall victim to scams, DBS told The Straits Times (ST) that the QR code in their letter is not personalised.
It merely directs customers to their phone’s app store to download the DBS digibank app, they said.
DBS advised customers to check with them directly if they need to verify the authenticity of correspondence sent to them that purports to be from the bank.
They may do this via the DBS Help & Support page, the bank said.
Their dedicated fraud reporting hotline is also available 24 hours a day at 1800 339 6963.
While it’s certainly a good thing to be wary of scams these days, it’s also a good idea to check with official sources before jumping to conclusions.
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Featured image adapted from WhatsApp and Google Maps.
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