Responding to the fact that residents received a text message yesterday morning sent by “local telecom operator CTM” reminding them to redeem their reward points, CTM said in a statement later in the day that the text message was confirmed to be a phishing* text message in its name.
According to Wikipedia, phishing is the malicious act of keeping a false website or sending a false e-mail with the intent of masquerading as a trustworthy entity in order to acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details
CTM urged its customers to delete the text message immediately after receiving it, and not to click on the link sent with it, so as to avoid any personal information being stolen, potentially resulting in financial losses.
The statement underlined that the company has issued reminders on its official website and social platform pages.
Enquiries can be made by calling the company’s service hotline (1000) or by visiting its stores in person, or calling the police, the statement stressed.
Meanwhile, the Judiciary Police (PJ) said in a statement that they were notified yesterday about another purported text message with an unknown link from “a local telecom operator”, in which the text message receivers would be lured to a fake website to provide their personal information and credit card details by claiming that their reward points were due to expire soon and that they should redeem them as soon as possible.
The Judiciary Police again urged the public not to log into the links or provide any personal information whenever they receive text messages on their mobile phones containing links to unknown websites, adding that no matter who they claim to be in the text messages, members of the public should stay vigilant.
The statement underlined that those who are asked to provide credit card information, transaction passwords or verification codes should take extra precautions to prevent their bank account or credit card details from being stolen.
The Judiciary Police also urged the public to install and regularly update anti-virus software on their mobile phones, mobile devices and computers.
Anyone who believes they have fallen victim to fraud or other crimes should call the police hotline on 993 or the fraud prevention hotline on 8800 7777, the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) urged senior citizens in a statement yesterday to pay special attention to fraudulent text messages and calls while, at the same time, urging the public to pay more attention to the elderly around them, so as to protect them from falling for scams.
The statement underlined that senior citizens should never provide their personal information but seek help from people around them when they suspect that they have received fraudulent calls and messages.
This image provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday warns the public to beware of a fake text message from ‘a local telecom operator’.
