MAS sees a spike in scam calls

THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has noticed a spike in fraudulent calls impersonating the regulator, following reports from almost 100 members of the public  on Thursday alone.

MAS said in statement that the phone/WhatsApp/Viber call contains a recorded message warning of abnormal activities in the recipient's bank account, and claims that the account will be closed within two hours if no action is taken.

The statement came after the authority warned the public last week about such scams that request for personal or bank account information.

The calls may originate from local or overseas numbers, and the perpetrators would use spoofing technology to mask their actual phone numbers and display an MAS contact number instead. They may also use the logo of MAS as the profile picture on Viber or WhatsApp.

Anyone who receives such messages or calls should not disclose personal information including Internet banking or credit card details, bank account user name, personal Identification numbers (PINs) or one-time passwords (OTPs). Do not call the number provided by the caller. Block or report the number as spam on the mobile application.

MAS officers will never ask members of the public for personal banking information nor security login credentials.