SINGAPORE – Scammers who were able to gain control of their victims’ credit cards by phishing and using them for illegal mobile payments netted at least $1.2 million over three months in 2024, the authorities reported on Feb 17.
At least 656 cases were reported from Oct 1 to Dec 31, 2024, the Singapore Police Force, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore (CSA) said in a joint statement.
Most of these cases – 502 – involved cards linked to Apple Pay.
The scheme involves scammers – suspected to be operating from abroad – first obtaining their victims’ credit card credentials through fake e-commerce websites and social media ads.
These credentials are then used by the scammers in Apple Pay and other digital wallets on their own mobile devices.
A one-time password, or OTP, is afterwards sent via text messages to the victims, who will be tricked into keying in the numerical password into the scammers’ fake websites.
This effectively gives the scammers control of their victims’ credit cards.
The scammers will then connect their Apple Pay and other digital wallets containing their victims’ credit card credentials to their money mules’ mobile devices, who will in turn use these apps to make in-person purchases of gadgets, luxury goods and other expensive items.
The police, MAS and CSA said they have been working with banks, Apple and other mobile wallet and card providers “to impose measures to arrest this trend”.
They advise the members of the public against sharing their banking and card credentials with anyone, and to check the veracity of e-commerce websites and links.
People are also encouraged to download the ScamShield app, activate digital tokens for banking apps and other security features, closely monitor their mobile wallet spending, and disable their cards for overseas use if they are not travelling abroad.
For more information or to report such crimes, individuals can contact the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or visit www.scamshield.gov.sg.
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