Beware of SMS scams as Singapore begins vaccination drive: MOH

[SINGAPORE] As invitations by text messages roll out for some to receive their Covid-19 vaccinations, scammers are jumping on the bandwagon to dupe members of the public.

Text messages, purportedly from a pharmaceutical to a company approved to provide the Covid-19 vaccine, have asked recipients to click on a link or make a phone call to schedule appointments for vaccination.

The MOH on Thursday (Jan 7) put up a notice to urge people to be wary of such scams and to verify the authenticity of text messages before offering personal or financial information.

It said that it is aware of such messages falsely claiming to be from a pharmaceutical company that has been approved to provide a Covid-19 vaccine. "The text messages are not from MOH and MOH did not approve any pharmaceutical company to contact anyone directly. We urge recipients not to respond to the messages," the notice said.

Ms Grace Chng, who received such a message on Tuesday, did just that.

It was from a number she did not recognise but bore the name "CHUANXIN".

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The message, which read "Modena, an American pharmaceutical company, has been approved to provide you with Covid-19 vaccine," instructed her to message another number on WhatsApp for registration."I have come across a number of scam text messages but I was surprised that this one was quite insidious. Unfortunately, these days you have to distrust before you can trust," said the 65-year-old writer.

Singapore kicked off its nationwide vaccination drive yesterday with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong among those receiving the jab.

The MOH has started sending out SMS invitations to those who are eligible to register for the vaccination, starting with healthcare workers.

Those who receive invitations should check that the link in the SMS ends with .gov.sg before clicking on it, said MOH on its website.

They should also not forward messages to others as each invitation is unique, MOH added.

MOH on Friday also warned of another scam in which calls or text messages falsely inform recipients that they had been in close proximity to someone who had tested positive for Covid-19. These messages request for personal or financial information in return for a test kit and results.

Those who wish to verify the authenticity of such messages, or have more questions on the Covid-19 vaccination exercise can call the MOH hotline on 1800-333-9999.

THE STRAITS TIMES