Police Advisory On Phishing Scams Involving Fraudulent Budget 2024 Infographics

The Police would like to alert members of the public to a phishing scam variant involving fraudulent Budget 2024 infographics.

In this scam variant, victims would receive a Telegram message containing an infographic purportedly from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Budget 2024. The message would entice victims to click on a phishing link by offering to verify the victim's eligibility for Government cash disbursements on the website. After clicking on the link, victims would be directed to a fraudulent website requesting for victims' names and Telegram accounts' contact numbers on the pretext of verifying victims' eligibility for Government assistance.

Victims who fill in their information and click on the verify button would receive notifications that a new device has attempted to log in to their Telegram accounts. The fraudulent infographic would subsequently be forwarded to other Telegram users in the victims' contact list and they would be added to unknown Telegram group chats purportedly related to investment opportunities.
MOF will only disseminate information through its official MOF channels. Members of the public should note that any SMS notification sent by the MOF will only inform citizens of their benefits. Members of the public will not be asked to reply to the SMS, click on any links, or provide any information to the sender.

The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:

1. ADD - Add the ScamShield App to protect yourself from scam calls and SMSes. Set security features to protect your social media accounts from being taken over (e.g. enable Two-step verification, only allow your contacts to add you into group chats)
   
   
2. CHECK - Check for scam signs with official sources (e.g. ScamShield WhatsApp bot @ https://go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot, call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688, or visit www.scamalert.sg). Look out for the ".gov.sg" URL in Government websites. If the website looks like a Government website but does not contain ".gov.sg", you can verify it by checking the list of Government associated websites available on https://www.gov.sg/trusted-sites.
   
   
3. TELL - Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report any phishing attempt to the platforms immediately.

Members of the public are encouraged to report fraudulent Telegram channels through the following steps:

1. Tap on the name of the channel and click on the "… more" ;
   
   
2. Click on "Report"; and
   
   
3. Select the appropriate option and follow the instructions to report the fraudulent Telegram channel.

If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial '999'.

For more information on Budget 2024 and the various support measures, members of the public can visit www.singaporebudget.gov.sg. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!

Annex