The Police and DBS recently published a media release against scams where 600 customers were protected from various instances of scams.
The media release includes a sample on how the scams looks like.
The Police have observed an increasing trend of phishing scams where scammers would impersonate as bank staff and target victims through SMSes. Please note that banks will never send any SMS with clickable links. Members of the public should not click on links in SMS that are purportedly from banks.
In the latest variant, members of public would receive unsolicited SMSes with alpha tags such as “SG-DBS” or “DBS-Notice” claiming that their card had been blocked due to unusual activity, or that their bank account had been frozen because of suspicious activities. The SMS would direct victims to sign in via an embedded link to verify their identity. Upon clicking on the link in the SMS, the victim would be directed to a spoofed internet banking log-in page, where victims would be asked to key in their online banking username and password. After entering the spoofed website, the victims would be redirected to another spoofed webpage requesting them to key in the One-Time Passwords (OTPs) received on their mobile phones. Victims would realise that they had been scammed when they discovered unauthorised transactions made from their bank accounts.
DBS and the Police have collaborated on various anti-scam efforts. In the last month, over 600 customers have been protected from various scams typologies due to active surveillance and $173,000 of losses were successfully recovered. Yet, about 60 victims had each lost between SGD60 and SGD3000 due to the recent phishing scams. This could increase if accounts continue to be compromised.
DBS would like to assure that their bank systems remain secure. However, given the widespread nature of this current campaign, it may be necessary for DBS to take short-term measures that may lead to friction or delay to transactions in order to disrupt the scams and protect their customers. Members of the public should be prepared for such delays, and their understanding is appreciated.
