SINGAPORE (CNA) – OCBC Bank said that it had further enhanced security measures in light of the recent spate of SMS phishing scams, involving customers losing a total of at least SGD8.5 million.
In a media statement, the bank said that the enhanced security measures include those “introduced in the recent ABS and MAS announcement” in response to the SMS phishing scams.
OCBC said that by January 31, it will have a 24-hour “cooling off” period for key account changes.
Its dedicated customer service care team that was set up to handle customer queries and reports on fraud will now be made permanent.
Additionally, the OCBC hotline now contains a dedicated option for customers to escalate reports of suspected scams.
“We will continue in our ongoing efforts to educate and inform customers about scams through multiple channels such as our social media channels, email, SMS, and on our website and mobile banking login pages,” said OCBC.
“We would like to again remind consumers to be alert, protect their bank account login credentials, and to only perform banking transactions through the Bank’s official website and mobile banking apps.”
In its statement, OCBC highlighted its existing anti-scam security measures, including the ability for customers to adjust their account-to-account and overseas funds transfer limits for online banking.
Funds transfers can also be deactivated completely by setting a SGD0 limit.
