Fraud Warning - COVID-19 Bank Scams

In February 2020, we wrote about one particular type of financial fraud, namely pre-IPO offering for well-known companies like Virgin Hyperloop One and AirBnB, where the scammer call victims offering investment opportunities.

But just like politicians, scammers never let a crisis go to waster, and we've received information from Standard Chartered Bank so some are trying to exploit COVID-19 pandemic to prey on victims.

Here's the email from the bank:


Protect your business from COVID-19 bank scams

Criminals are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to target and scam bank clients. They are using social engineering techniques (Phishing and Vishing) to hack or spoof business email accounts to fool potential victims into making fraudulent payments or to gain access to online banking authentication credentials for financial gain.

Please be extra vigilant and heed the following advice:

• Do not disclose your S2B credentials, VASCO OTP or account details to anyone, as this may compromise the security of your account.
• If you receive any suspicious emails, do not click on links or attachments until you have validated the source. Please ensure that you access your bank account only through our official channels.
• If you receive any suspicious text messages or phone calls, do not respond directly, please verify if the message or the caller is legitimate. 
• Validate any new bank account details directly with your suppliers / clients. If you notice unauthorised transactions appearing in your account, please report to us immediately.

Thank you for banking with us.