OCBC compensates more than 30 SMS scam victims

SINGAPORE - OCBC Bank said on Monday (Jan 17) that it has already been making goodwill payments to customers who lost funds from their bank accounts in a recent spate of SMS phishing scams.

The bank said it has been doing so since Jan 8 and more than 30 customers have received them so far.

"The payouts to this group of customers are made on goodwill basis after thorough verification, taking into account the circumstances of each case," OCBC said.

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Nearly 470 customers lost at least $8.5 million to fraudulent fund transfers in December last year after scammers posed as OCBC and sent SMSes to victims with links to phishing sites.

OCBC did not reveal how much it has paid out or if it intends to fully compensate every victim. ST has contacted the bank for more details.

Many victims reportedly fell for the ruse because the fake SMSes were grouped by their phones with legitimate SMSes previously sent by the bank for one-time passwords and transaction alerts.

This happened as the scammers had spoofed the OCBC name used for sending out official SMSes.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.