The Police have observed a surge of phishing scams involving emails and SMSes purportedly from government and public service agencies. Since the start of Jun 2022, at least five victims have fallen prey to these scams, with total losses amounting to more than $9,700.
Victims of such phishing scams would receive emails or SMSes by scammers impersonating government and public service agencies including PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency and SP Group, or government services such as Singpass.
These emails and SMSes would either claim that the victims had paid their bills twice and would advise them to request a refund through an embedded link; or that their Singpass had been disabled, or locked due to security reasons but could be reactivated via an embedded link. Upon clicking the links, victims would be redirected to spoofed websites impersonating government and public service agencies, where they would be tricked into providing their personal information, Singpass login credentials and/or credit/debit card details. The victims would only realise that they had been scammed when they discovered unauthorised transactions made with their credit/debit card.
Members of the public are advised to follow these crime prevention measures:
- Do not click on URL links provided in unsolicited emails and SMSes;
- Always verify the authenticity of the information with official sources;
- Never disclose your personal information, Singpass login credentials or credit/debit card details to anyone; and
- Report any fraudulent credit/debit card charges to your bank and cancel your card 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, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Join the ‘Spot the Signs. Stop the Crimes’ campaign at www.scamalert.sg/fight by signing up as an advocate to receive up-to-date messages and share them with your family and friends. Together, we can help stop scams and prevent our loved ones from becoming the next victim.
Annex A
Images of Spoofed Emails, SMS and Phishing Websites
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
07 June 2022 @ 10:20 PM