At least 27 victims have fallen victim to a scam involving the purchase of traditional Chinese “mooncakes” perpetrated on social media platforms involving a malicious Android mobile app.
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Losses during August amounted to at least 325,000 Singapore dollars ($238,740), police said on Tuesday (September 5).
Victims would encounter ads for the sale of mooncakes on Facebook and Instagram in this new scam variant.
They would then contact scammers via WhatsApp and be directed to malicious links to make payments.
"These malicious links will lead victims to download an Android Package Kit (APK) file," police said.
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These files, created for the Android operating system, contain malware.
Police added that in some cases, victims were initially asked to make transfers via PayNow or bank transfers to pay for the Mooncakes. They were then told that their orders had to be cancelled due to “production or labor issues.”.
To receive a refund, victims would be asked to download and install an APK file, thus giving the scammers remote access to their devices to steal passwords and recover bank account credentials.
"The victims then discovered unauthorized transactions from their bank accounts," police said.
In March, police reported that at least 168 people were scammed while buying seasonal food online, such as musang king and wagyu beef, losing at least S$20,000.
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“Police would like to remind members of the public of the risk of downloading apps from third-party or dubious websites.”
Those who have downloaded and installed a suspicious app or suspect that their phone may be infected with malware should put their phone in “airplane mode.”.
After checking that Wi-Fi is turned off, run an antivirus scan. Victims should also check their bank account, Singpass, and CPF for any unauthorized transactions using other devices.
Information source: channelnewsasia.com
