In a press briefing, ABS director Ong-Ang Ai Boon said that since September “about 50” people have fallen victim to the malware, which poses as an Android software or WhatsApp application update and accesses users’ online banking accounts to make unauthorised purchases.
In the latter, a pop-up ad encourages consumers to tap it and download a “new” version of the program or risk losing access to the service. After downloading the “update”, the app will prompt the customer to input confidential information such as credit card details.
Current victims have lost up to a few thousand dollars from fraudulent online purchases made by cyber criminals, said Ong-Ang.
She disclosed that many of the purchases were made to overseas websites. A fraudulent purchase of budget airline tickets was made in one case.
Investigation into these scams is still ongoing by the banks affected and the police, she added.
“The weakest link is the consumer, if they are not careful. You must be vigilant. Don’t download unauthorized apps, don’t go to illegitimate sites and don’t simply click on any URL which you are not aware of. Because once you do that, you compromise your handphone,” Ong-Ang noted.
ABS advised consumers to take the following precautions: secure your smartphone with a password, install system updates to get the latest security features, install applications from trusted sources such as “Google Play”, only click on hyperllinks from messages and emails from a trusted source, and visit your bank’s website for more information.
According to the banking association, major retail banks in Singapore have seen an increase of mobile banking customers from 1.5 million in 2013 to 2.4 million in 2015.