Woman ignores OTP message and loses almost $300 to online fraudsters

One woman had the shock of her life when she noticed that nearly $300 had been deducted from her bank account.

And to add salt to injury, this entire fiasco started off with her doing what most of us would have done — ignoring a one-time password (OTP) message.

On June 29, TikTok user @Doublewks, who has requested for AsiaOne to address her as Jezlynne, took to social media to share her story.

The 24-year-old claimed that as she was checking to see how "broke" she was at 1am on June 28, she noticed that several transactions were made using her credit card. She concluded that someone had allegedly hacked into her account. 

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@doublewks/video/7114355029330431234[/embed]

In the TikTok video, Jezlynne displayed a screenshot of the OTP message she had received on June 22 for something called Tiger — Full Blast.

The message said: "Do not reveal OTP to anyone for your online txn USD5.00 on Mastercard ending (blurred) as Tiger — Full Blast. To approve, use (blurred) within three minutes."

Said Jezlynne: "I saw that it was only USD5 (S$7). I'm not giving my OTP to anyone so I just chose to ignore it, thinking what's the worst that could happen."

Unfortunately for her, hundreds of dollars were then allegedly deducted from her bank account, she told AsiaOne. 

When she opened her POSB I-Banking account on June 28, she noticed how the amounts deducted were progressively getting higher per transaction, starting from $1.40 to at one point more than $100 collectively.

The amounts that were deducted from her bank account eventually added up to nearly $300.

"So, on the 25th, they deducted another small amount. It's not that bad, at this point, it's not that bad," said Jezlynne on her TikTok video, before yelling out her frustrations later showing a transaction made on a later date.

"And then this b**** has the audacity and the balls to deduct even more money from my bank account. And this b**** went to two different places to deduct USD55 and USD24.95."

She laughed before adding on: "I didn't even know I had money in my bank account to even be deducted in the first place."

The digital content creator told AsiaOne that she called POSB's I-Banking 24 hours hotline immediately after she noticed the transactions. In the video, she also expressed her gratitude to the staff manning the hotline for checking on the situation and getting back to her so quickly with a solution.

"I called at about 1am and they answered right away. They resolved the issue within 10 minutes," Jezlynne told AsiaOne. "They went to check my transactions, clarified which ones looked suspicious, helped me to cancel my card, and sent a replacement card."

DBS says card fraud

When contacted by AsiaOne, a DBS spokesperson said that they have been in contact with this customer. 

"The case in question is due to card fraud. This can happen when card credentials are compromised," said the DBS spokesperson.

The bank said that in order to safeguard customers from unauthorised card transactions, global card payment networks adopt the 3D-Secure security protocol which requires customers to authenticate their online transactions using a One-Time-Password via SMS, or their digital token.

"Most reputable online merchants are 3D-Secure enabled. Customers should always try to transact with these merchants and should be aware of the card security protocols to further protect themselves," said the DBS spokesperson.

The bank added that in the event that customers have a disputed transaction with non-3D-Secure merchants, they should contact their bank to assist them to handle chargeback claims.

Several netizens also expressed that they faced similar situations.

Jezlynne told AsiaOne that she is still hoping to get back her money and hopes that her experience will teach others to report to their respective banks if they notice any sign of transactions that they don't recognise.

To protect yourself against cyber attacks and to safeguard your money, here are some tips along with other measures to avoid falling prey to online scams.

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aishahm@asiaone.com