A screenshot of what seems to be an ‘IRAS’ scam was seen making its rounds on social media and even the most careful of persons might miss out the little details in this scam.
A closer look at the screenshot shows the weblink of an ‘IRAS’ payment screen to be iras.gov-sg.web.do which is only a little different from the original web address.
The difference between the original link and the fake link lies in the hyphen of gov-sg when it is supposed to be a dot instead for the original.
For government websites, it is gov.sg instead of gov-sg.
Luckily for the recipient of this message, he/she was vigilant enough and managed to spot the mistake and saved himself over a $1,000 and maybe even more.
If one is not careful even with these small little details, one could end up as a victim of a scam so it is important to remain careful and vigilant.
If you receive a message from a Government agency and are unsure, it is always prudent to call the relevant agency that have sent the message to check and enquire if the message is real.
Protect yourself and people around you from becoming a victim of one.
Prevent yourself from becoming a victim of one
In the event where you are unsure if what you have received is real or fake, it is always good to assess and check out if the messages are real or if they are spoofed by scammers.
The Singapore Government has tools online for people to check if there are any similar modus operandi from the scammers reported before and even have an Anti Scam Helpine.
The Anti Scam Helpline can be reached at 1800-722-6688 from Mondays to Fridays excluding Public Holidays from 9am to 5pm.
You may also go to the Scam Alert website to find out more.
