Thursday, January 5, 2012

DBS/POSB customers hit by unauthorised ATM withdrawals

SINGAPORE - DBS is investigating several hundred cases of unauthorised withdrawals from POSB/DBS accounts allegedly made from Malaysia in what could be a large scale bank fraud.

A local news source reported that when last checked at 8pm today, about 200 customers had reported unauthorised withdrawals from their bank accounts to DBS.

The average amount withdrawn is believed to be about S$1,000.

The Straits Times reported that the bank is combing through all transactions made in Malaysia to validate them. In the meanwhile, the bank has deactivated cards suspected to have been compromised.

Several Singaporeans have been writing in to citizen journalism website Stomp complaining of unauthorised withdrawals from their bank accounts from Malaysia.

The spate of unauthorised withdrawals appear to have affected just POSB and DBS account holders for now.

One reader, who gave his name as Dennis, said he found out a sum of money had been withdrawn from his account, with the withdrawal done in Malaysia, and made a police report on January 4.

Dennis told Stomp that there has been a number of cases where money was withdrawn suspiciously from DBS and POSB bank accounts over the last few days. Those affected include cardholders with ATM cards as well as those holding debit cards.

He added that he noticed that in all the cases, the ATM cards remained in possession of the owners, who did not leave the country, but the withdrawals took place in Malaysia.

One victim, Ms Lin, told a news channel that she was told by DBS that the unauthorised transaction had been made on a Malaysian ATM machine around the same time she was withdrawing her money.

Facebook user Amanda Goh posted on her profile that her POSB account had been "hacked" into, with four transactions made from overseas ATM machines.

The withdrawals added up to $2,000 over a two day period, she wrote. She added that she has no internet or paypal accounts.

Another reader Ricky Ng wrote in to warn those with DBS and POSB accounts to check their bank accounts for money suspiciously withdrawn.

"Be alert as a few of our fellow Singaporeans have already fallen prey to this," he said.

In response, DBS has launched investigations and will also be alerting customers if any unusual activity is detected on their accounts.

The bank further said all customers will be fully compensated within 24 hours for any false transaction.

In response to media queries, the police confirmed that they have received several reports of unauthorised withdrawals being made from POSB and DBS bank accounts.

The Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force is investigating the matter.
The public is advised to check their bank accounts, and if they believe unauthorised withdrawals have been made, to lodge a police report via the Electronic Police Centre (ePC) at http://www.spf.gov.sg/epc/ or at any Neighbourhood Police Centre.

The report should include the date, amount, location and transaction description for each unauthorised withdrawal.

In addition, bank account holders are also advised to report the matter to DBS.

Any customer who suspects their ATM or debit card has been compromised should contact the bank at 1800-220-1111 or visit any bank branch.

A replacement card will be issued on the spot at any of its branches, DBS said.

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