SINGAPORE - President Halimah Yacob on Wednesday (Feb 26) said she has reported to the police a fake e-mail inviting recipients to a dinner event with her, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Cabinet ministers.
She told her Facebook followers that the e-mail is a phishing hoax.
Those who receive the e-mail are told to download an invitation letter via content-sharing platform Sharepoint and to key in their e-mail passwords.
"I strongly urge all Singaporeans to remain vigilant against online exploits and scams, and to familiarise yourself with tell-tale signs of a phishing e-mail, so that we do not fall prey to these malicious cyber threats," she wrote.
The Straits Times has contacted the police for more information.
Earlier this year, MacPherson MP Tin Pei Ling lodged a police report after the image of a doctored Chinese New Year banner she was in began circulating online.
The original banner had Ms Tin wishing residents "a happy and prosperous Lunar New Year" in English and Chinese, alongside a photo of her in a red-and-white outfit.
The culprit replaced the festive message and doctored Ms Tin's image to show her in revealing clothes.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Scammers have sought in other schemes to use images of key individuals – as well as made-up quotes – to trick people into supplying their credit card or bank account information.
A recurrent theme involves fraudulent webpages quoting the likes of Madam Halimah, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam purportedly in support of bitcoin trading schemes.
Readers are encouraged by the scammers to take advantage of the get-rich-quick opportunity by registering on the site with their personal details, including name, e-mail address and credit card details.
In August last year, President Halimah alerted her Facebook followers to such schemes, urging them to be cautious of such “false and misleading” websites.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
