LTA scam message: Victims lose hundreds of dollars

Scammers have been sending messages purporting to be from the LTA, threatening people with overdue bills or fines.

Potential victims would receive text messages purporting to be from the LTA.

The SMS would claim that the recipient has unpaid or past-due bills and that they will be penalized.

The SMS will also include a link that users must click to get more information and make the payment.

The link, however, is a phishing link that will take them to fraudulent websites.

They will be asked for their credit or debit card information as well as one-time passwords (OTPs).

Unauthorized transactions will be charged to victims’ cards if they fall for the scam and provide these details.

Victims have lost at least $133,000 to scammers and there have been at least 112 police reports made since Oct 13 regarding the LTA scam message. According to Straits Times Newspaper.

“We are aware of the phishing scams involving an SMS about bill payments being circulated,” LTA said on Facebook.

“This message was not sent by us. LTA does not request for payment via URL links in its SMS alerts on offence notices, vehicle registration and licensing matters.”

They added;

“#Reminder If you receive such messages, we advise you to:

Always verify the authenticity of the information with official website or sources

Not click on URL links provided in unsolicited messages and emails.

Not disclose your personal information or OTPs to anyone.”