Claiming your CDC vouchers? Beware of websites impersonating RedeemSG, say police

Redeeming the Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers disbursed on Jan 3? Be careful of of the link you click on because it could come from a scammer. 

In an advisory on Friday (Jan 17), the police said there is a resurgence of phishing websites involving the impersonation of the RedeemSG website.

With the latest disbursement of CDC vouchers, several members of the public have reported receiving messages with fake website links, phishing for their personal details. 

The police said that those claiming their vouchers will only receive an SMS with the unique link from gov.sg right after they have successfully claimed their vouchers at go.gov.sg/cdcv. 

When claiming their digital CDC vouchers, members of the public will only be asked to log in via Singpass for authentication.

"You will never receive a request to disclose personal or banking credentials, be asked to transfer money, or install mobile applications from unofficial  app stores to claim your CDC vouchers," the police said.

The police also advised the public to add the ScamShield app to block and filter SMSes, set up security features like Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and to verify the authenticity of the clickable links. 

In January last year, the People's Association CDCs filed a police report following the circulation of a WhatsApp message stating that the CDC voucher disbursement is a scam. 

The erroneous message had warned people against clicking a link to claim their vouchers. However, councils clarified that the link in the WhatsApp message was in fact the correct link to redeem the vouchers. 

Last year, the CDCs also cautioned members of the public against clicking on any unofficial links without the gov.sg domain, emphasizing that RedeemSG will never send SMSes that require one's personal or banking details.

Those who come across any suspicious messages relating to RedeemSG or CDC vouchers can contact People’s Association on 62255322, call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000, or submit a report online at www.police.gov.sg/iWitness. 

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melissateo@asiaone.com