Mobile phone scams are on the rise and it’s not surprising, given how much we rely on our phones and how often we use it daily. Unfortunately for a man in Singapore, he lost SGD$71,000 (~$50,000) after downloading a fake Google Play app onto his phone.
According to the report from Shin Min Daily News, the man received a call from his local bank informing him that there were multiple transfers being made out of his account to foreign countries. The amount totaled to SGD$71,000, in which $30,000 was his pension that he received in January.
The man instructed the bank’s staff to freeze his account, but it might have been too late and the staff told him that if the money had been transferred overseas, it would be impossible to get his money back. The man later made a police report and handed over his device to be used in the investigation, where it was later revealed that his device was compromised due to malware that apparently was installed when he clicked the fake Google Play app.
While this sounds like a sad story, there is somewhat of a happy ending. It appears that the victim’s bank has since reached out to him to make him a goodwill offer. Whether or not the bank will be willing to reimburse him in full or partially is unclear, but we suppose it’s better than nothing.
The Singapore Police have also since made a post on their website informing the public and educating them on keeping their devices safe and how to potentially avoid malware.
Source: Mothership.sg