The Police have observed a new variant of loan scams involving malicious application (app) downloads. Since 1 July to 13 August 2023, at least nine victims have fallen prey, with total losses amounting to at least $18,000.
In these cases, victims would either chance upon advertisements offering loans on online platforms such as Facebook or receive unsolicited text messages through messaging applications, such as WhatsApp. The scammer will send victims a uniform resource locator (URL) link if they express interest in such loan advertisements. As part of the loan application, the URL link will require victims to download an Android Package Kit (APK) file, an app created for Android’s operating system, purportedly for purposes of registration or communication. Please refer to Annex A on the example of the malicious app downloaded by the victim.
The app is in fact a malware which will collect and send personal data from victims’ phones to the scammers. Please refer to Annex B on the types of personal information collected by the malware.
The scammers would first entice victims into taking up loans with attractive interest rates but subsequently require loan applicants to pay various ‘fees’ to secure the loans. If victims refused to pay the ‘fees’ or tried to cancel their loan application, the scammers would use the victim’s personal data collected by the malware to extort victims into paying the ‘fees’, for example by threatening to expose their compromising photographs and/or harass people in their contact list. Having been put in fear by the scammers, victims would transfer money to local bank accounts provided by the scammers
The Police would like to remind members of the public of the dangers of downloading apps from third-party or dubious sites. This may lead to malware being installed on victims’ mobile devices which allow access to victims’ personal information.
Members of the public are advised to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- ADD - anti-virus/anti-malware apps available on official Play Store or App Store to your device. Update your devices’ operating systems and applications regularly to be protected by the latest security patches. Disable “Install Unknown App” or “Unknown Sources” in your phone settings. Do not grant permission to persistent pop-ups that request for access to your device’s hardware or data.
- CHECK - for scam signs with official sources (e.g., visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688). Legitimate moneylending companies are not allowed to solicit loan applicants over the internet. Ignore such loan advertisements and do not reply to these unsolicited loans. When asked to download unknown apps, check the developer information on the app listing as well as the number of downloads and user reviews to ensure it is a reputable and legitimate application.
- TELL - authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report the number to WhatsApp to initiate in-app blocking and report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.
If you have already downloaded and installed the app or suspect that your phone is infected with malware, please take the following steps:
- Turn your phone to “flight mode”.
- Run an anti-virus scan on your phone.
- Check your bank account/Singpass/CPF etc for any unauthorised transaction(s) using other device(s).
- If there are unauthorised transaction(s), report to the bank, relevant authorities, and lodge a Police report.
- After completing steps a-c, if you believe that your phone has not been infected with malware, you may resume usage of your phone. As a further precaution, you may consider doing a “factory reset” of your phone and changing important passwords.
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 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 A
Example of the malicious app downloaded by the victim ▼
Annex B
Information which malware can extract on one’s phone ▼
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
15 August 2023 @ 5:25 PM