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Police Advisory On Phishing Scams Involving Fraudulent Social Media Advertisements

The Police would like to alert the public to a recent uptick of a phishing scam variant involving social media advertisements. Victims would come across advertisements or posts on social media platforms that offer promotions on various goods. They will subsequently be directed to fraudulent websites that would request for their banking credentials. Since January 2024, at least 104 victims have fallen prey to such scams, with losses amounting to at least $63,000.

In these cases, victims would encounter advertisements or posts featuring various heavily discounted goods on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Enticed by the attractive promotions, victims would click on the advertisements and be redirected to fraudulent phishing websites that would prompt them to key in their bank card details and/or One-Time Passwords (OTPs) for the “purchase” of the purported goods during check out.

Victims only realised that they had been scammed when they discovered unauthorised transactions that were different from their intended purchases, being charged to their debit/credit cards. In some cases, the transactions were also made in foreign currencies (e.g., USD, HKD, AUD, etc.).

The Police would like to advise members of the public 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). Do not disclose your bank/card details and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to anyone.

  2. CHECK – 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). Look out for tell-tale signs of a phishing website. Do not click on dubious URL links provided in social media advertisements. Be cautious of attractive deals that seem too good to be true. Check the transaction amount and merchant details before keying in the One-Time Password (OTP).

  3. TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report the fraudulent advertisements to the platforms. 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 Fraudulent Social Media Advertisements 

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PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
28 March 2024 @ 6:15 PM
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