Fake police site phishing for confidential information claims victim’s Web browser ‘blocked’
Published by The Straits Times dated 28 Jan 2020
The Singapore Police Force has warned the public of a fake police website that tries to trick people into giving up confidential information by claiming that their Web browsers have been “blocked”.
This is the latest version of similar scams that have cropped up in recent years.
In a statement on Tuesday (Jan 28), the police said that scammers are using a Web browser’s full-screen mode to show a victim a Windows 10 desktop image displaying the fake Singapore Police Force website. The image fills up the whole screen of a victim’s computer.
The fake site alleges that the victim’s Web browser has been “blocked due to (the) viewing and dissemination of materials forbidden by (the) law of Singapore”, namely pornographic material.
The victim may also be led into thinking that his computer has been locked because the scam display, being mostly an image, does not allow him to click on the “Start” menu, or close and open applications.
The fake site goes on to inform the victim that his Web browser will be unlocked after paying a $1,000 fine through a credit card. He is also told that the fine must be paid within six hours. If he does not comply, the site says bogus criminal proceedings will be initiated against him.
The victim is asked to enter his credit card details – such as the card number, his name, card expiry date, and card verification value (CVV) – on the fake site to purportedly pay the fine.
The police said that such websites are actually phishing sites in disguise that are designed to extract a victim’s personal information and banking details. This could lead to monetary losses as scammers would use these details to make unauthorised purchases and transactions.
The police added that they do not have access to lock a person’s desktop computer, and clarified that the official Singapore Police Force website address is www.police.gov.sg.
If a person encounters the latest fake police website, the police advised that he should press his computer’s Alt+Tab keys to see if it is possible for him to return back to his normal desktop display.
The victim can also try pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys to open the computer’s task manager to end any Web browser processes.
He should also refrain from giving out his personal information and bank details, such as Internet bank account user name and password, as well as one-time password codes from tokens. Such information is useful to criminals.
This is the latest variation on the fake police website scam. In November last year, the police warned of a fake Singapore Police Force website that resurfaced, and that they have been issuing advisories on the matter as far back as 2017.
For the November fake website alert, the police said then that a victim got a call from someone claiming to be from the police.
The person alleged the victim was involved in illegal activities and the call was transferred to someone claiming to be a law enforcement officer in China, who then directed her to a website resembling the Singapore Police Force website.
The victim was then instructed to key in her bank account details, password and one-time password.
After that, the victim realised money had been transferred from her bank account without her consent.
For those in doubt or have information related to the latest fake police website scam or similar crimes, they can call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000, or visit www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
People that need urgent police assistance can call 999.
To get scam-related advice, the public can call the anti-scam helpline on 1800-722-6688 or visit www.scamalert.sg.
Members of the public can also join the “Let’s fight scams” campaign at www.scamalert.sg/fight by signing up to receive up-to-date messages and share them with their family and friends.
伪造警察网站欺骗受害者的网络浏览器“封锁”
刊登于海峡时报 二零二零年一月二十八日
新加坡警察部队已经警告公众有一个虚假的警察网站，该网站声称他们的网络浏览器已被“封锁”，试图诱使人们放弃机密信息。
这是近年来出现的类似骗局的最新版本。
警方在星期二（1月28日）的声明中说，诈骗者正在使用网络浏览器的全屏模式向受害者显示Windows 10桌面图像，其中显示了伪造的新加坡警察部队网站。图像填满了受害者计算机的整个屏幕。
该假网站声称受害人的网络浏览器已“由于查看和传播新加坡法律所禁止的材料而被封锁”，即色情材料。
受害者可能还被认为是他的计算机已被锁定，因为该骗局显示（主要是图像）不允许他单击“开始”菜单或关闭并打开应用程序。
假网站继续告知受害者，他的网络浏览器将在通过信用卡支付1000美元的罚款后被解锁。他还被告知必须在六个小时内缴纳罚款。如果他不遵守规定，该网站称将对他提起虚假刑事诉讼。
要求受害者在虚假网站上输入其信用卡详细信息（例如卡号，姓名，卡到期日期和卡验证值（CVV））以据称支付罚款。
警方说，此类网站实际上是变相的钓鱼网站，旨在提取受害者的个人信息和银行详细信息。这可能会导致金钱损失，因为诈骗者会利用这些详细信息进行未经授权的购买和交易。
警察补充说，他们无权锁定一个人的台式计算机，并澄清说，新加坡警察部队的官方网站是www.police.gov.sg。
如果某个人遇到了最新的假警察网站，则警察建议他应按计算机的Alt + Tab键，以查看他是否有可能返回正常的桌面显示。
受害者还可以尝试按Ctrl + Alt + Delete键以打开计算机的任务管理器，以结束所有Web浏览器进程。
他还应该避免透露自己的个人信息和银行详细信息，例如Internet银行帐户用户名和密码，以及令牌中的一次性密码。这些信息对罪犯很有用。
这是假警察网站骗局中的最新版本。去年11月，警方警告伪造的新加坡警察部队网站重新出现，他们早在2017年就一直在就此事发表咨询。
对于11月份的假冒网站警报，警察随后说，受害者从声称是警察的人那里接到了电话。
该人称受害人参与了非法活动，电话被转移到一个自称是中国执法人员的人，然后他将她定向到一个类似于新加坡警察局网站的网站。
然后指示受害者输入她的银行帐户详细信息，密码和一次性密码。
之后，受害人意识到未经她的同意，钱已经从她的银行账户中转出。
对于那些有疑问或了解与最新的假警察网站骗局或类似犯罪有关的信息，他们可以拨打警察热线1800-255-0000，或访问www.police.gov.sg/iwitness。
需要紧急警察协助的人可以拨打999。
要获得有关欺诈的建议，公众可以拨打1800-722-6688拨打反欺诈热线或访问www.scamalert.sg。
公众也可以通过注册接收最新消息并将其与家人和朋友分享，来参加www.scamalert.sg/fight上的“让我们一起打击诈骗”活动。