SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Tuesday (Jan 25) that it was tightening monetary policy settings amid a further upward shift in Singapore’s inflation outlook.

The adjustment is outside of MAS’s normal cycle of twice-yearly monetary policy reviews, usually in April and October.

The MAS will increase the rate of appreciation in its monetary policy band “slightly”, given the risk of a near-term rise in core inflation.

The center width and level of the Singapore Dollar Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (S$NEER) policy band will not change.

“The move builds on a pre-emptive shift to an appreciation stance in October 2021 and is appropriate to ensure price stability in the medium term,” MAS said.

MAS manages monetary policy through exchange rate settings rather than interest rates, allowing the Singapore dollar to rise or fall within an undisclosed range against the currencies of its major trading partners.

It adjusts policy through three levers: the slope, midpoint and width of the policy band, or SGD NEER.

In its assessment last October, the MAS shifted the SGD nominal effective exchange rate band from the previous 0% to a gradual appreciation path.

The authorities said that since the last monetary policy statement last October, “Singapore’s inflation outlook has shifted further upwards, reflecting global and domestic factors”.

“The MAS therefore assesses that another pre-emptive adjustment to its monetary policy stance is appropriate at this juncture,” it said.

MAS is revising its inflation forecast for this year. Core inflation is now expected to be 2% to 3% this year, up from 1% to 2% expected in October.

Meanwhile, CPI-All Items inflation is forecast at 2.5% to 3.5%, compared with a previous forecast range of 1.5% to 2.5%.

In the past three months, the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate has generally appreciated in the upper half of the policy band, the authorities said.

Higher inflation outlook
Singapore’s inflation outlook has turned higher since October amid a recovery in global demand and “ongoing supply-side frictions”.

“Upside risks to inflation remain due to the impact of the pandemic and geopolitical shocks on global supply chains,” MAS said.

Energy prices rose further, while imported food inflation remained high due to regional supply disruptions, MAS added.

The authorities noted that core inflation rose between October and December last year.

Core inflation rose to 1.5% in October — the highest level in nearly three years — and to 1.6% in November.

Data on Monday showed that core inflation rose to 2.1% in December, mainly due to a rise in service sector inflation due to a surge in air ticket prices.

“The CPI for airfare also rose sharply, largely reflecting the cost of COVID-19 testing requirements for international travel,” the MAS said, referring to the consumer price index.

MAS said the domestic labour market had tightened, with resident unemployment now close to pre-pandemic levels and wage growth above historical averages.

“Against this backdrop, price increases for various goods and services were stronger than expected,” the authorities said.

It expects core inflation may pick up and hit 3% by the middle of the year before slowing.

Growth prospects unchanged
MAS said Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2022 was unchanged at 3% to 5% “barring new disruptions”.

It noted that in the fourth quarter of 2021, the economy expanded by 2.6% quarter-on-quarter, stronger than the previous quarter, according to advance estimates released earlier this month.

“With the gradual easing of domestic security management measures and border restrictions, the economic recovery so far led by trade-related and modern service industries should extend to domestic and tourism-related industries this year,” Maas said.

It added that the global economic outlook is “basically intact”.

“The emergence of Omicron variants in late 2021 may temporarily suppress specific clusters of activity, but is unlikely to derail the broader sustained economic recovery,” MAS said.

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.

SINGAPORE: National digital giving platform Giving.sg has received a record S$95.5 million in donations in 2021, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) said in a press release on Wednesday (Jan 19).

This is the largest amount collected in a year since the NVPC launched the platform in 2010.

Compared with 2020, this amount increased by 2.3%, and compared with 2019 before the pandemic, it increased by 167%.

The NVPC attributes this to an increase in virtual giving during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has also accelerated the adoption of technology in fundraising, it added.

Last year, the number of non-profit organizations (NPOs) on Giving.sg increased by 5.8%. The platform currently supports 625 registered charities.

In 2021, across all entities, nearly 4,880 fundraising campaigns were launched on the platform, a 21.2% increase from the previous year.

NVPC deputy chief executive Tony Soh said charities must remain flexible to “meet the challenges posed by the pandemic and keep up with the changing needs of beneficiaries”.

“Using a hybrid fundraising campaign — synchronizing in-person giving programs with virtual platforms — can bridge existing gaps in the industry while encouraging more people to donate,” he said.

Year-End Festival
During the year-end festive period in December, donations of S$25.4 million were up 20.4% year-on-year and were the highest monthly donations on the platform. On 31 December alone, S$3.5 million was raised, a record for one-day donations.

The Great Singapore Give was a fundraising event in December as part of SG Cares Giving Week, contributing S$2.1 million to the total donations raised.

Mr So said: “To inspire and promote the willingness of Singaporeans to give, we work with government agencies and companies to empower charities through marketing efforts such as enhancing the digital capabilities of non-profit organisations and raising awareness of the nation’s fundraising efforts. , such as the great Singapore giving.”

Transaction Waiver
Giving’s transaction fees as part of NVPC’s continued efforts to support charities. SGs will continue to be exempted until March 31, 2022.

The two-year waiver will allow charities to receive full donations, the NVPC said.

“It’s been a difficult time for charities in Singapore. It’s even more difficult trying to navigate the crisis alone,” it said.

“Over the past two years, the NVPC has been working tirelessly with various stakeholders to uplift the people and communities that have been struggling.”

SINGAPORE: OCBC Bank said on Wednesday (Jan 19) that all OCBC customers affected by a recent SMS phishing scam will receive a “full bona fide payment” covering the amount of their losses.

More than 100 victims have already received the money, it said in a statement, adding that payment arrangements will be made with all affected customers next week.

“We seek our clients’ understanding and patience as thorough verification of each case takes time to ensure accuracy. This process is necessary so that each case is dealt with fairly and appropriately,” said OCBC Group Chief Executive Officer Helen Wong said.

“We are sorry to spend more time than expected with our customers resolving issues during this painful and anxious time.”

The bank also proactively reached out to customers who may not have known their banking activities were vulnerable to phishing scams, Ms Huang said.

“This helps prevent another 200+ customers from falling prey to the scam,” she added.

OCBC Bank first announced on Monday that it has started offering “good faith payments” to customers who have recently suffered a phishing scam involving the bank.

It did not specify at the time how much was paid and whether all affected customers would receive payment.

Nearly 470 people fell victim to SMS phishing scams involving OCBC Bank in December, with total losses of at least S$8.5 million, according to police.

Victims receive unsolicited text messages claiming there is a problem with their bank account, asking them to click on a link to fix the problem.

They were then redirected to a fake website similar to OCBC Bank and asked to enter their ibanking account login details.

Victims only discovered they had been scammed after they were notified that an unauthorized transaction had charged their bank account.

In a separate statement on Monday, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it took a “serious approach” to the scam and would consider regulatory action against OCBC.

The agency added that it expects all financial institutions to take strong measures to prevent, detect and remediate fraud, and provide timely assistance to customers who experience fraud.

SINGAPORE: The Supreme Court has warned the public of a recent spate of senders impersonating phishing emails, informing recipients that they are receiving a letter from the court.

The Supreme Court said in a press release on Wednesday (Jan 19) that the phishing emails were sent by the “Supreme Judiciary Council” from info1@judiciary.gov.sg.

They contain PDF documents shared through the hosting service Dropbox Business, and “often require personal information such as name and identifying information,” such as an NRIC or FIN number.

The court added: “Anyone who receives such an email should not reply and should not disclose any personal or banking details to the sender.”

The Supreme Court said those who received the email should not download any attachments or click on the links provided.

It added: “The judiciary will not use the @judiciary.gov.sg domain name to send emails to the public, nor will it request information to be sent via Dropbox Business.”

The court said legal documents can only be served by an authorized process server, and will send you a Registrar’s Notice or “Letter of the Court” if you need to appear in court or need to provide information.