Police warn of phishing scams impersonating LTA, targeting Singaporean travellers to Malaysia
The police also warned of phishing scams involving SMSes impersonating the Royal Malaysia Police.
Phishing SMSes sent by scammers impersonating LTA. (Images: Singapore Police Force)
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
SINGAPORE: Members of the public are advised to be wary of phishing scams that involve SMSes impersonating the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and sent to Singaporean travellers to Malaysia, the police said on Tuesday (Feb 10).
In this scam variant, victims would receive an SMS allegedly from LTA regarding unpaid vehicle tolls after their mobile phones are connected to Malaysia’s telecommunications network for roaming.
The text, sent via LTA's former official sender ID named "LTA", would state that the victims owed unpaid vehicle tolls, according to screenshots provided.
The sender ID was decommissioned on July 2024 and is no longer in use, the police said.
To pay the tolls, victims would be asked to click on a link that would take them to a phishing website, which would request their bank card details.
"Victims only realise that they have been scammed when unauthorised transactions are made to unknown merchants from their cards," the police said.
Since Jan 27, at least 10 cases have been reported, with losses of at least S$24,000 (US$19,000).
Members of the public should ignore dubious clickable links sent through SMSes claiming to be from LTA, the police said.
All official government messages are sent from a single "gov.sg" sender ID. Messages sent from decommissioned sender IDs of any government agencies are fake, they added.
Users should block senders of such messages, the police advised.
Details on outstanding payments can be found via LTA's One Motoring website.
ROYAL MALAYSIAN POLICE IMPERSONATION CASES
The police on Tuesday also warned of phishing cases involving SMSes that impersonate the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), with at least six cases reported since the start of the year and losses amounting to at least S$8,000.
SMSes allegedly from the PDRM would ask victims to click on a link to settle outstanding vehicle toll payments.
Victims who gave up their personal information realised they had been scammed when they discovered unauthorised transactions in their bank accounts or cards.
The PDRM only collects outstanding vehicle toll payments through the Touch ‘n Go system, said Singapore authorities.
