SINGAPORE: DBS Bank warned on Wednesday (Jan 19) that scammers were “aggressively targeting” customers with suspicious login alert messages.
The warning comes after a recent spate of phishing scams affected hundreds of OCBC customers with total losses of at least S$8.5 million.
In a warning on its website, DBS said the targets would receive a fraudulent text message claiming their account had been suspended. Victims will then be directed to verify their details by logging into the phishing website.
SMS are sent from generic accounts with SenderID such as INFO, INFOSMS, Notice and other variants.
Those who click on the link will be redirected to a phishing site asking for their username, password and one-time PIN.
“These phishing sites utilize various URLs such as dbs-login6.com, online.webdbslistonline.com, etc. Scammers will use stolen banking credentials to take over victims’ online bank accounts,” DBS said.
“Customers are advised to be aware of such scams.”
DBS Bank reminds customers to ensure that they are on its official website, or using DBS Bank’s official mobile app for any DBS-related requests.
“Go directly to https://www.dbs.com to ensure you are on our site,” it added.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, DBS said it would never ask for account details or one-time PINs by phone, email or text message.
“Rest assured that we are actively fighting such phishing sites,” it said.
DBS Bank advises anyone who suspects they are victims of fraud or discovers any unexpected bank or card transactions to contact them immediately via the following hotlines:
Singapore: 1800-339-6963 or 6339-6963
China: 400-820-8988
Hong Kong: 2290 8888
India: 1-860-210-3456
Indonesia: 0804 1500 327
Taiwan: (02) 6612 9889 / 0800 808 889
In December, nearly 470 people fell victim to a similar SMS phishing scam involving OCBC Bank.
OCBC said on Monday it had begun making “good faith payments” to affected customers to cover their lost amounts. It then said on Wednesday that all affected customers would receive full payment next week.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Monday it took a “serious approach” to the scam and would consider regulatory action against OCBC.
In November, DBS digital banking services were disrupted for two days, leaving DBS and POSB Bank customers unable to access online banking services.
The bank, which is Southeast Asia’s largest, said the outage was caused by “an issue with (its) access control servers,” and DBS CEO Piyush Gupta assured customers that there was no cyberattack that caused the outage.
