Victims lose $237,000 amid resurgence in SingPost and Singtel phishing scams: Police | The Straits Times
Victims lose $237,000 amid resurgence in SingPost and Singtel phishing scams: Police
Scammers would impersonate the firms and send out e-mails embedded with fraudulent URL links. PHOTO: ST FILE
Aqil Hamzah
PUBLISHED 3 NOV 2022, 3:53 PM SGT
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SINGAPORE - At least 85 people here have lost about $237,000 since January 2022 after falling victim to phishing scams involving purported e-mails from Singapore Post (SingPost) and telco Singtel.
It comes amid a resurgence in scammers impersonating both firms and sending out e-mails with unrelated domains, said the police on Thursday. The e-mails were embedded with fraudulent URL links which were designed to steal victims’ personal information.
In the case of the scam e-mails purportedly from Singtel, victims were told that their accounts faced billing issues due to missing information. They were instructed to click on the embedded link to renew their subscriptions.
In the SingPost scams, victims were notified that they had outstanding payments to make for parcel deliveries. They were directed to use the link to make payments.
However, police said these links redirected the victims to fraudulent websites which then tricked them into providing their personal information, including their account username and password, as well as credit or debit card details and their one-time passwords.
Victims only realised they had been scammed after they discovered unauthorised transactions made using their credit or debit cards.
The advisory comes just before a slew of end-of-the-year sales are rolled out online, including the 11.11 sale, which falls on Nov 11.
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Such sales are often promoted on e-commerce platforms. A report in January by data and analytics company GlobalData projected that e-commerce spending in Singapore would grow from $7.8 billion in 2021 to $14.2 billion in 2025.
Scammers would impersonate the firms and send out e-mails embedded with fraudulent URL links. PHOTO: ST FILE
Aqil Hamzah
PUBLISHED 3 NOV 2022, 3:53 PM SGT
FacebookTwitter
SINGAPORE - At least 85 people here have lost about $237,000 since January 2022 after falling victim to phishing scams involving purported e-mails from Singapore Post (SingPost) and telco Singtel.
It comes amid a resurgence in scammers impersonating both firms and sending out e-mails with unrelated domains, said the police on Thursday. The e-mails were embedded with fraudulent URL links which were designed to steal victims’ personal information.
In the case of the scam e-mails purportedly from Singtel, victims were told that their accounts faced billing issues due to missing information. They were instructed to click on the embedded link to renew their subscriptions.
In the SingPost scams, victims were notified that they had outstanding payments to make for parcel deliveries. They were directed to use the link to make payments.
However, police said these links redirected the victims to fraudulent websites which then tricked them into providing their personal information, including their account username and password, as well as credit or debit card details and their one-time passwords.
Victims only realised they had been scammed after they discovered unauthorised transactions made using their credit or debit cards.
The advisory comes just before a slew of end-of-the-year sales are rolled out online, including the 11.11 sale, which falls on Nov 11.
Get tips to grow your investments and career in weekly newsletter
Enter your e-mail
Sign up
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
Such sales are often promoted on e-commerce platforms. A report in January by data and analytics company GlobalData projected that e-commerce spending in Singapore would grow from $7.8 billion in 2021 to $14.2 billion in 2025.
