At least 83 people lose over $150,000 after getting SMSes they thought were from DBS this year

At least 83 people lost at least $155,000 receiving SMSes they thought were from DBS bank.

The police are alerting the public to the persistent phishing scam variant where scammers would impersonate DBS bank through spoofed SMSes.

These SMSes would warn the victims of possible unauthorised attempts to access their DBS bank accounts, urging them to click on the embedded URL links to verify their identities and stop the transactions.

After clicking on the links, the victims would be directed to spoofed DBS bank websites where victims would be misled into providing their Internet banking credentials and one-time password, which the scammers would use to make unauthorised withdrawals.

In some cases, victims would receive WhatsApp messages impersonating as DBS bank security department officers who would 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.

You are advised to adopt the following precautionary measures:

ADD – ScamShield App to protect yourself from scam calls and SMSes. Set security features such as transaction limits for Internet banking transactions and enable multifactor authentication for banks and e-wallets).

CHECK – For scam signs with official sources such as the ScamShield WhatsApp bot @ go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot, call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 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.