28-6-2023 (SINGAPORE) At least S$20,000 (US$14,000) has been lost by victims of a phishing scam since June this year, according to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Wednesday (Jun 28). The phishing scam involves a fake SMS, allegedly sent by Singtel, embedded with a fraudulent URL link.
The scam targets victims by sending them unsolicited SMSes, prompting them to click on the link to claim a reward before their Singtel points expire. The link then leads the victim to a fake Singtel site, where reward items such as an Apple Watch or Apple AirPods can be selected for redemption.
In order to redeem the reward item, victims are prompted to top up their Singtel points with a nominal amount, for example, S$1. They are then required to enter their credit card details and One-Time Password (OTP) on the fake Singtel site, pretending to make payment.
The police comment that “victims realised they had been scammed when unauthorised transactions were made to overseas merchants.”
The police advise members of the public to take precautionary measures, including setting up security features like multifactor authentication for bank accounts, setting transaction limits on internet banking transactions, and using the ScamShield app. Members of the public should avoid clicking on any dubious URL links and verify their authenticity. In the event of fraudulent transactions, banks should be immediately alerted.
