ACT AGAINST SCAMS Doctor caught in scam trap with one tap

Minutes after Dr Chai Chwan tapped on a link within a Telegram message from an acquaintance, his phone buzzed non-stop.

- By JAN LEE

A flood of Telegram messages poured in from 10 friends, asking the 60-year-old general practitioner the same urgent question: "Is your Telegram account hacked?"

They had all received an identical Telegram message sent from Dr Chai's phone number. It contained a link inviting recipients to apply for We Care @ North East Fund, a genuine scheme by the North East CDC that provides financial support to needy families.

The text claimed there was a "limited time" offer for Singaporeans to receive up to $1,000 in cash assistance and urged recipients not to "miss out".

That was when Dr Chai realised he had fallen prey to a phishing scam. His Telegram account was compromised.

In phishing scams, victims are tricked into clicking malicious links or into revealing personal information.

The scam happened on a Saturday afternoon in July this year.

Just 10 minutes earlier, Dr Chai had received the same link from an acquaintance. Without thinking, he tapped on it.

The page that opened mimicked a Singpass login. Dr Chai tapped the QR code, but an error message appeared.

This glitch saved him from handing over his personal data, but it didn't stop scammers from hijacking his Telegram account.