MORE than 70,000 senior citizens queued up at MRT stations islandwide to redeem their SG50 public transport vouchers on June 12 ("No need to rush, but seniors hurry to claim free travel card top-ups"; June 13).

The rush started because of an SMS which was circulating, telling senior citizens to redeem their vouchers.

It was fortunate that the authorities were prepared to give out this huge number of vouchers, albeit a few days earlier than planned.

But what if the SMS was a hoax and the authorities did not have a redemption planned?

This incident shows that there is a huge possibility of many citizens getting scammed by an SMS.

Scammers are always on the lookout for potential targets, and the police have reminded citizens multiple times not to fall for scams.

We can utilise the power of social media and SMS, but we must always keep in mind that they can also be used to spread wrong information.

Jong Ching Yee (Miss)