The latest round of scams involves bogus e-mails pretending to be from DBS Bank or Singapore Airlines (SIA) asking customers for their personal information and credit card details. The police said yesterday that several people have been manipulated into responding to these e-mails, only to realize later that unauthorized transactions in foreign currencies were charged to their credit cards.
In the case of DBS, victims reported receiving an e-mail informing them that their Internet banking accounts were locked after several failed log-ins. As for the SIA scam, customers were lured in by an e-mail promising rewards for those who completed a customer satisfaction survey.
Both e-mails provided links for receivers to either unlock their accounts or participate in the survey. These links, if clicked on, would direct victims to websites resembling the real thing and request for personal information and bank account details such as credit card number and card verification value.
The final step was for victims to key in the one-time passwords they received on their mobile phones.
It was only later on that the victims discovered what had happened when they got SMS notifications of foreign transactions made on their credit cards.
DBS told The Straits Times yesterday that the bank is well aware of such scams, and that it constantly alerts customers on methods to protect themselves and their accounts via e-mails, online banners, and bank statements.
SIA also reminded customers in a Facebook post to be cautious about revealing personal data to unverified sources.
In response, the police released an advisory to remind the public to be careful about disclosing personal information or bank account details online, and to beware of phishing websites that may look genuine. Any fraudulent charges to credit card bills should also be reported to the bank immediately.
For more info on scams, click on Scam Alert or call the anti-scam helpline at 1800-722-6688.
