Scammers are getting smarter and smarter as the days go by. It doesn’t help that advisories telling people how to guard against scammers are on public domains.
Which means they can easily keep track of what works, what doesn’t and what people don’t know yet.
And now, scammers are targetting Singaporeans by impersonating the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
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MAS Warns S’poreans About Scam Emails From Them
On 6 Oct, MAS warned Singaporeans about scam emails that came to their attention.
And these emails are pretty convincing, seeing as they are purportedly sent from @mas.gov.sg email addresses.
If you were to just do a quick Google Search online, is what MAS use for their email addresses.
Which makes it particularly scary, seeing how taking note of the sender’s address is one of the ways to combat scams.
There are two types of scam emails sent out that they currently know of.
1. We’ve Received Foreign Funds Sent To You
The first one is titled “Fund Transmittal” and apparently sent out by the email address, “remittance@mas[dot]gov[dot]sg”.
The email will claim that the MAS has received money from foreign central banks supposedly remitted to you.
In order to receive the money, you’ll have to pay a transaction fee as well as provide your banking details.
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2. We Need Your Details Because We’re Improving Our Anti-Scam Measures
The second type of email reportedly asks the recipients to provide their personal details.
The email claims that MAS “is updating information on the training status of compliance officers for programmes related to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.”
In other words, a scammer trying to convince you to do things so that you won’t be scammed.
Oh, the irony.
How Can Anyone Send Email from a mas.gov.sg?
Well, you would be surprised at how easy it is.
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Going in-depth would be too cheem, so here’s a simple summary: yes, anyone can do that easily. In fact, it takes less than three minutes and it’s not that technical (though the background process itself is quite cheem). It’s just like putting on a mask and passing off as someone else.
Of course, when you click on “reply”, you might just see the email address to be another person’s email (i.e. the scammer’s real email).
What Should You Do If You Receive This Type of Emails
One good rule of the thumb to remember is this: no official organisation or business is going to ask for your personal information over emails or phone calls.
Now, I know some of you are going to disagree because we’re asked to provide our NRIC and address for verification whenever we call Singtel.
But keep in mind that during those times, we’re the ones that called the hotline in the first place.
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Which is probably why, if you receive a scam SMS, you shouldn’t click on the number provided in the text itself.
Instead, dial the number on your phone and call instead.
The next time you receive such an email, even if it looks convincing, the best thing to do is to call and verify if it’s legit or not.
Even better, make it an SOP.
Because I’ll take a bit of trouble and embarrassment any day rather than to lose my life savings. Agree?
If you suspect you might’ve been the victim of a scam like this, then here’s what you might want to do:
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- lodge a police report;
- change the passwords or PINs on all your online accounts; and
- contact your banks to stop any transactions.
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