At least 219 DBS customers have fallen prey to scams in the first two weeks of the year, losing about S$446,000 in total.

There has been a surge in cases of SMS phishing scams since December last year, where scammers would impersonate banks or bank staff, said the police and DBS in a joint news release on Sunday (Jan 14).

In these cases, victims would receive unsolicited SMSes bearing short codes, overseas numbers or local numbers.

The scammers claim to represent DBS or POSB bank and warn victims of "possible unauthorised attempts" to access their bank accounts.

It would urge them to click on embedded links to "verify their identities and stop the transactions".

After clicking on the links, the victims would be directed to fake DBS websites and asked to provide their internet banking details and One-Time Passwords (OTPs), which scammers would then use to make unauthorised withdrawals.

In response to CNA's query, a DBS spokesperson said it would assess victims' circumstances and "offer goodwill payouts on a case-by-case basis".

"Beyond financial assistance, we also partner with counselling centres to offer counselling services to victims who may need emotional support," added the spokesperson.

"We have in place a robust anti-scam awareness programme to raise public vigilance on the latest scams and fraud, which includes phishing scams."

The police and DBS said that banks would never send clickable links via SMS.

"Since early 2022, all banks have removed clickable links in emails or SMSes to retail customers," added the authorities.

"This measure is among several other safeguards that banks implemented to combat the spate of phishing scams in 2022, such as lowering the default threshold for funds transfer transaction notifications to customers and increasing the frequency of its scam education alerts."

The police and DBS advised people to install the ScamShield App to protect themselves against scam calls and SMSes. They should also enable two-factor authentication for bank accounts and e-wallets, as well as set up transaction limits.

DBS employees will never ask for internet banking credentials or OTPs. Customers who suspect they may have fallen prey to scams can call DBS' fraud hotline at 1800 339 6963, or activate the Safety Switch on DBS' automated phone system to temporarily block access to their funds.

"DBS would assist those customers with necessary follow-up actions, including replacing their cards and lodging the fraud report," said the police and DBS.

The bank spokesperson said people can stay on top of the latest scam trends, advisories and information on its website.

DBS also partners with various government bodies such as the police, Infocomm Media Development Authority and Cyber Security Agency of Singapore to create educational anti-scam content, added the spokesperson.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by Today Online

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