SINGAPORE — At least eight victims in September have fallen for a phishing scam involving a fake local motoring website, the police said on Sept 17.
The victims lost at least $28,000 in total after they were led to the fake website where they keyed in their personal details.
They received e-mails from a sender pretending to be OneMotoring by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), informing them that their vehicles' road tax or road licence was expiring, the police said.
The victims were then directed to a website that masqueraded as the OneMotoring portal, where they keyed in their vehicle registration numbers, personal information and credit and debit card details. They realised they had been scammed only when they saw unauthorised transactions made on their accounts.
The police said LTA does not inform vehicle owners of expiring road tax via e-mails, and their correspondences will not contain payment links. Instead, they do so via text messages sent from "gov.sg", e-letters in users' OneMotoring accounts or hardcopy letters sent to their place of residence.
The public is advised to take steps to avoid falling for scams, including downloading the ScamShield app and setting up security features, such as multi-factor authentication for bank accounts and e-wallets.
If a website looks suspicious, one can check for signs of scams by calling the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688 or visiting www.scamalert.sg. Any fraudulent transactions should also be reported to the bank immediately.
Those with information on such crimes may also call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
