378 people fall prey to phishing scams in first half of November

Phishing scams are in the spotlight again, with 378 people falling victim in the first two weeks of this month alone, said the police in a statement yesterday.

These phishing scams typically take the form of text messages or e-mails from addresses passing off as those of trusted entities, making fake offers or claims to trick recipients into clicking on a link to a phishing website.

Trusted entities include institutions like banks, government agencies, trade unions and companies such as SingPost or Grab.

An example of a known phishing scam is the SingPost parcel redirection scam.

Victims would receive an SMS - sometimes after an authentic SingPost SMS - stating: "Your parcel has been redirected to your local post office branch due to an unpaid delivery fee." This is accompanied by a phishing link.

Another example is the $20 commemorative note scam. Victims would receive an SMS informing them that they could receive a Bicentennial $20 note free. The SMS carries a link to a website address which resembles that of DBS Bank.

Victims who click on such phishing links would be tricked into providing their credit or debit card details and a one-time password (OTP), allowing scammers to siphon off money from their accounts.

"Victims would realise they have been scammed only when they discover unauthorised transactions made using their credit/debit card," said the police.

The police advise the public to always verify the authenticity of information found in messages and e-mails with official sources, and to avoid clicking on links found in unsolicited e-mails and text messages.

Internet banking details or OTPs should never be disclosed to anyone. Any fraudulent charges to bank accounts should be immediately reported, and cards linked to affected bank accounts should be cancelled.

People with information related to scams can alert the police on 1800-255-0000 or at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness

Here are some tips to avoid being scammed.

• Always check if the message is sent via an unknown e-mail address or number even if the sender claims to be from a trusted agency. Trusted agencies' official e-mail addresses and numbers are available on their websites.

• Check if URLs in messages are the same as those of the official websites of trusted agencies. Scam URLs tend to be modified variants of official website URLs.

• Check if the logos on the websites connected to the URLs look different from those on official sites. Scam websites sometimes modify official logos to avoid copyright infringement.

• Avoid giving your personal banking details and one-time passwords to any site that you have not verified as official.

• Always cancel your credit card and inform your bank the moment you detect a fraudulent charge.