At least 219 victims duped into revealing Singpass credentials to scammers since January

SINGAPORE - Scammers have stolen the Singpass credentials of at least 219 people to open bank accounts since Jan 1 under the pretext of job screening, the police said on May 17.

This is a marked increase from the number reported in March. The police said then that

at least 47 victims had fallen prey to such scams since the start of the year

.

Scammers typically reach victims by listing fraudulent job offers online and on messaging platforms such as Telegram and WhatsApp.

They would send screenshots of Singpass QR codes for the victims to scan with their mobile devices, telling the victims that they need to retrieve their personal information for background checks.

Victims who authorise the profile retrieval requests would later realise that their Singpass details had been used to open bank accounts.

In other cases, scammers would ask victims to give them access to their Singpass accounts – so that they could change the registered contact numbers and e-mail addresses to prevent the victims from receiving notifications.

The police reminded the public that their Singpass passwords are private.

Legitimate employers will not ask job applicants to disclose Singpass credentials and passwords, the police said.

To report scam-related information, the public can call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit details online at 

www.police.gov.sg/iwitness

 with the assurance of confidentiality.

For more information on scams, they can visit 

www.scamalert.sg

 or call the anti-scam hotline on 1800-722-6688.