More scammers impersonating bank staff over the phone and via SMS to dupe victims

More are falling for phishing scams where scammers impersonate bank staff and target victims through phone calls or SMSes, said police.

Since last month, at least 28 victims have fallen prey to banking-related phishing scams, with total losses amounting to at least $114,000.

In one of the scams, victims would receive phone calls from callers impersonating bank staff.

The caller would request for the victims’ personal details, such as their Internet banking username and password, under the pretext that the bank required their personal information to verify transactions performed in the victims’ account, or that the victim was under investigation for transferring large sums of money to another bank.

After the victims have provided their personal details, they would receive One-Time Passwords (OTPs) on their mobile phones. The caller would then ask the victims for the OTPs.

In a variation of the scam, victims would receive unsolicited SMSes claiming that their debit or credit card had been blocked due to unusual activities, or that their bank account had been frozen because the “bank account was unusual”.

The SMS would direct victims to sign in via an embedded link to verify their identity. Upon clicking on the link in the SMS, the victims would be sent to a spoofed Internet banking log-in page, where they would key in their online banking username and password.

After entering the spoofed website, the victims would be redirected to another spoofed web page requesting them to key in the OTPs received on their mobile phones.

Victims of both types of scams will only discover that they had been scammed when they were notified of unauthorised transactions made from their bank accounts.

You are reminded to follow these crime prevention measures:

• Bank officers will never ask for your banking details or OTPs over the phone or by SMS.
• Do not click on dubious URL links provided in unsolicited text messages. Banks do not send SMSes containing links.
• Always verify the authenticity of claims of problems with your bank account or cards issued by the bank with the official bank website or sources.
• Never disclose your personal or Internet banking details and OTP to anyone.
• Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.

If you have any information relating to such crimes, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.

For more information on scams, you can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688.