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The Police and DBS Bank Limited (DBS) would like to alert members of the public on the re-emergence of phishing scams involving emails that impersonate banks. Since 15 January 2026, there were at least 72 cases involving the impersonation of DBS and POSB, with total losses amounting to at least $484,000. 

In this scam variant, victims would receive emails allegedly from DBS or POSB, claiming that their digital token has expired and an activation or update would be required. The emails would contain an embedded link which would direct victims to a phishing website that resembled DBS/POSB’s webpage. The victims would be misled into entering their banking credentials, credit / debit card details and/or One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to ‘activate’ or ‘update’ their digital token. The victims would subsequently discover unauthorised activities and/or transactions in foreign currencies (e.g., EUR, SAR), made in their banking accounts and/or cards.

The Police would like to remind members of the public that banks in Singapore will never send clickable links via emails or SMSes. The set up of a digital token can only be done through the official DBS/POSB Digibank app and never through a clickable link. 

As scam tactics evolve, DBS has intensified its prevention efforts through co-created educational content with the Police, targeted advisories on emerging scam variants, and ongoing public education on top scam typologies. DBS also collaborates closely with Police to disrupt scam activities by surfacing phishing websites for takedowns, funds tracing and recovery, and timely case escalation. 

Members of the public are advised to never disclose sensitive information such as your banking, credit / debit card credentials and OTPs to anyone, and to adopt the following precautionary measures:

1. ADD – Add the 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). 
   
   
2. CHECK – Check for scam signs with official sources. You can check the legitimacy of suspicious messages, phone numbers and website links via the ScamShield app or visit the ScamShield website at www.scamshield.gov.sg. 
   
   
3. TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report any fraudulent emails via the ScamShield app. If you suspect that your DBS/POSB banking or card details have been compromised, contact DBS/POSB’s fraud hotline at 1800-339-6963 or 6339-6963 immediately. 

If you are in doubt, call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 to check. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg and the DBS’ Scam Defence Hub at https://go.dbs.com/scamdefence. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!

Screenshots of email allegedly from DBS