Police Warn Public About Phishing Scam Involving Impersonation Of Bank Employees
There has been a concerning rise in scam cases, both online and in real life.
Despite the considerable efforts to curb them, scammers continue to find new ways to cheat people of their money.
OCBC Penalised For Poor Response To Phishing Scams, Bank To Address Deficiencies Found
According to recent reports, at least 28 people have fallen victim to a phishing scam where scammers pretend to be bank staff, losing a total of S$114,000.
In light of the increase in such scams, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) has once again urged the public to be cautious.
Victims lose over S$114K in phishing scam
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), at least 28 people have fallen victim to phishing scams since May this year, losing over S$114,000.
Apparently, these scammers would impersonate bank employees and call victims to ask for personal details, such as their internet banking username and password.
They would claim that the bank needed this information to verify transactions, or that the victim was under investigation for transferring large amounts of money.
After the victims gave their personal details, they would receive a one-time password (OTP), which the scammers would ask for.
Source: Singapore Police Force via Channel NewsAsia
Alternatively, some victims received SMS messages informing them that their cards were blocked or that their accounts were frozen due to unusual activity.
These messages would contain links to fake internet banking login pages.
Therefore, when victims keyed in their login details and OTPs, the scammers would be able to obtain this information.
The victims would only realise they were scammed when they received notifications about unauthorised transactions from their bank accounts.
Police urge public to be more cautious
The police have reminded the public that banks would never ask for one’s online banking details and OTPs over the phone. They would also never send SMSes containing links.
Therefore, they warned against clicking on dubious URL links in unsolicited text messages.
To further protect people from such scams, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore announced on Thursday (2 Jun) that more anti-scam measures will be implemented by 31 Oct.
For example, they will introduce an emergency self-service “kill-switch” that allows people to freeze their bank accounts, The Straits Times (ST) reports.
They will also limit online fund transfers to S$5,000 a day.
Protecting ourselves and others from phishing scams
It’s alarming how scammers continue to thrive despite the recent efforts to bring their crimes to a halt.
Most of the time, nobody thinks they’ll fall for a scam until it actually happens to them. Therefore, it is important not to let our guard down and be alert when we receive suspicious calls or SMSes.
We can also do our part to protect others by reporting such crimes to SPF.
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Featured image by MS News.
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