The Police would like to alert members of the public to the re-emergence of a phishing scam variant where scammers would impersonate banks through spoofed SMSes, to phish for victims’ online banking usernames, passwords and One-Time Passwords (OTP). In December 2023, at least 103 victims have fallen prey, with total losses amounting to at least $161,000.
In most of these cases, victims would receive SMSes from “+65” numbers claiming to be from their bank. These SMSes would warn the victims of possible unauthorised attempts to access their bank accounts, and urge them to click on the embedded URL links to verify their identity and stop the transactions. After clicking on the links, the victims would be directed to spoofed bank websites where victims would be misled into providing their internet banking credentials and OTP, which the scammers would use to make unauthorised withdrawals.
In some cases, victims would receive WhatsApp messages claiming to be bank officers. These scammers would impersonate bank security department officers and provide forged bank statements displaying unauthorised transactions made in the victims’ e-wallets.
Victims would only realise that they had been scammed when they discovered unauthorised transactions in their bank accounts.
The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- ADD – ScamShield App to protect yourself from scam calls and SMSes. Set security features (e.g. set up transaction limits for internet banking transactions, enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Multifactor Authentication for banks and e-wallets).
- CHECK – For scam signs with official sources (e.g. ScamShield WhatsApp bot @ https://go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot, call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688, or visit www.scamalert.sg). Banks will never send you clickable links via SMS. Look out for tell-tale signs of a phishing website and never disclose your personal or banking credentials, including OTPs to anyone, even one claiming to be a bank officer!
- TELL – authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.
If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!
Annex A
Screenshots of SMSes received by victims
Screenshots of WhatsApp Communications between victims and scammers
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
29 December 2023 @ 6:00 PM