THE anecdotes are heartbreaking; the data alarming.

A 34-year-old woman lost close to S$30,000 after scammers took control of her phone when she downloaded a third-party app. Another lost her life savings of more than S$50,000, also after downloading a third-party app to buy durians online. They were victims of malware that allowed scammers to take control of their Internet banking access.

Phishing scams continue to thrive despite numerous and sustained measures such as educational campaigns, setting up a special police taskforce to monitor and nab cybercriminals, and heightened internal surveillance by banks.