A total of 14 victims in Singapore have been scammed out of at least SGD 100,000 in the past week — reportedly, between September 2 and 7, 2024 — in a variant of phishing that impersonates a text message from Singtel (Singapore Telecommunications Limited).
These victims fell prey to the scam even though the Singapore Police Force had warned the public more than a year ago — on June 28, 2023 — to stay alert and guard against a fake Singtel SMS.
“The Police would like to alert members of the public [to] a phishing scam variant involving a fake SMS purportedly sent by Singtel with [a] fraudulent URL link embedded. Since June 2023, at least 12 victims have fallen prey, with total losses amounting to at least $20,000,” said the police media release on the Singtel scam.
Victims reeled in with lure of gifts
Yesterday, quoting a Singapore Police statement, The Straits Times reported: “Victims [in September 2024] received SMSes informing them of expiring Singtel points and were directed to a phishing website resembling the actual Singtel redemption page. There, they were asked to select gifts and input their credit or debit card details, along with one-time passwords.”
Screenshots of the Singtel reward points scam. | Singapore Police Force (via The Straits Times)
The report added: “Victims realised they had been scammed only when they were notified by their banks about unauthorised transactions.”
Modus operandi of the latest Singtel SMS scam matches that of the past year. The June 2023 police advisory had explained: “In this scam variant, the victim would receive an unsolicited SMS prompting the victim to click on a fraudulent link to claim a reward before the expiry of his Singtel points.
Phishing SMS impersonating Singtel. | Singapore Police Force
“Upon clicking on the URL link, the victim was led to a fake Singtel site to select reward items (e.g. Apple Watch, Apple Airpod, etc) for redemption. The Singtel points, topped up with a nominal amount (e.g. SGD 1 + 5120 points) would be required to redeem the selected reward item.
“The victim would then key in his/her credit card details and One-Time Password (OTP) on the fake Singtel webpage on the pretext of making payment. Victims realised they had been scammed when unauthorised transactions were made to [an] overseas merchant.”
Reiterating the Singapore Police advice for the public, ST asked people “to protect themselves through measures such as blocking international calls and SMSes; using only official banking apps from recognised app stores; and setting security features such as two-factor authentication for banking apps, social media and Singpass accounts”.
It was reported that Singapore Police also recommended setting transaction limits on Internet banking, and “check webpage addresses for discrepancies”.
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Singtel issues advisory on Instagram
The Instagram page of Singtel posted a photo drawing attention to its advisory. It said: “We would like to alert our customers to a scam SMS that is circulating. It claims that you have Singtel points that are expiring and requests for you to click on a link to redeem your rewards. Please note: these messages are part of a phishing scam, and are not issued by Singtel.”
It advised: “Here’s what to do if you receive a scam message:
• Delete the SMS immediately.
• If in doubt, call us at 1688 to verify. If you have responded to the message, please contact your bank immediately for assistance.
• Lastly, stay vigilant and never click on malicious links or give out your banking details.
• For more info, visit: singtel.com/secured.”
(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Connected To India)
