SINGAPORE — The police are warning the public not to click on an online pop-up advertisement that offers a S$1 (RM3.08) iPhone 7 deal, adding that at least 12 people have fallen for the scam since last month.
The victims later found out that there were unauthorised transactions in various foreign currencies made to their credit cards after they registered for the deal, the police said in an advisory yesterday.
In these cases, the victims had clicked on the ad which stated, “If you live in Singapore, you can get the iPhone 7 for just SGD 1.00/-”, and were led to another website that showed a newspaper report on the offer and “testimonials” from people who had received the phone.
To register for the offer, they were then directed to a phishing website to enter their personal information including name, address and bank account details such as credit-card number and the one-time password that banks issue. The victims later received SMS notifications of foreign transactions made on their credit cards.
Online users are advised to be wary of offers that are “too good to be true”, the police said, and to be careful when asked to enter personal information and bank account details over the Internet. They should also report any fraudulent charges detected in credit-card bills to their banks immediately.
Another preventive measure is to look for signs of a secure website, such as the “https:” at the start of its Internet address, or the icon of a closed padlock at the bottom-right corner of the browser window. — TODAY
