04/23/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/23/2024 06:18
The Police would like to alert members of the public to a phishing scam variant involving fraudulent Budget 2024 infographics.
In this scam variant, victims would receive a Telegram message containing an infographic purportedly from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Budget 2024. The message would entice victims to click on a phishing link by offering to verify the victim's eligibility for Government cash disbursements on the website. After clicking on the link, victims would be directed to a fraudulent website requesting for victims' names and Telegram accounts' contact numbers on the pretext of verifying victims' eligibility for Government assistance.
Victims who fill in their information and click on the verify button would receive notifications that a new device has attempted to log in to their Telegram accounts. The fraudulent infographic would subsequently be forwarded to other Telegram users in the victims' contact list and they would be added to unknown Telegram group chats purportedly related to investment opportunities.
MOF will only disseminate information through its official MOF channels. Members of the public should note that any SMS notification sent by the MOF will only inform citizens of their benefits. Members of the public will not be asked to reply to the SMS, click on any links, or provide any information to the sender.
The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:
Members of the public are encouraged to report fraudulent Telegram channels through the following steps:
If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial '999'.
For more information on Budget 2024 and the various support measures, members of the public can visit www.singaporebudget.gov.sg. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!
Annex