Major card-issuing banks have prevented S$53.9 million of losses in Q4 2024, ABS says
THE Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) said on Monday (Feb 17) that major card-issuing banks have adjusted their fraud surveillance measures in response to scams involving mobile wallets.
In its statement, ABS said that it has observed a rise in phishing scams involving the fraudulent provisioning of debit and credit cards into mobile wallets. Mobile wallet providers include Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, which are used on iOS and Android-based smartphones.
The association said that in such scams, victims are tricked into providing their card details on a phishing website. Customers are also tricked into providing their SMS one-time password to scammers to authenticate the provisioning of the card onto a mobile wallet on the scammer’s device.
Once completed, the scammer can then use the mobile wallet to make unauthorised purchases or transactions.
“Major card-issuing banks have adjusted their fraud surveillance measures in response and have prevented S$53.9 million of losses in Q4 2024,” it noted, adding that banks will continue to enhance their suite of measures.
By July 2025, banks will require additional verification, such as in-app controls or digital token authentication, to provision cards onto mobile wallets.
Furthermore, banks will also take proactive steps to remove those provisioned to mobile wallets if there are “indicators of fraudulent activity”, it said.
It added that customers should remain vigilant. ABS recommended that customers set low card transaction notification thresholds and call their banks immediately if they notice any unauthorised use.
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