DBS in fresh wave of unauthorised withdrawals

DBS has issued a press statement following a recent incident of unauthorised overseas ATM withdrawals. The following is a portion of a press statement they have sent to the press:

On 19 February, Sunday night, DBS received calls from a handful of customers who were alerted to unauthorised ATM withdrawals in Singapore, after receiving real-time SMS alerts from the bank. This incident is not a result of any new skimming activity but a residual effect of the same card skimming operation that took place at the end of last year. DBS fully compensated all 17 affected customers a total of SGD 23,000 within 24 hours.

DBS is working closely with the authorities on the investigation and confirms that over the past few days, there have been no unauthorised withdrawals made in Singapore.

Based on the Sunday withdrawals, the DBS analytics team identified a further group of customers who were potentially at risk of fraudulent domestic withdrawals. To safeguard them against unauthorised ATM withdrawals, the bank proactively de-activated the cards of this group of customers, and took immediate steps to replace their cards.

These customers were also informed of the card de-activation on the same day and new ATM/Debit cards have since been issued to them.

The bank appreciates customers' understanding for the inconvenience caused as it moved to take prompt precautionary measures.

DBS is monitoring the situation closely. In addition to sending out SMS alerts, the bank proactively contacts customers to validate ATM withdrawals, if and when any suspicious activity or unusual usage patterns are detected.

All DBS and POSB customers are encouraged to ensure that the bank has records of their current mobile phone contact details in order to facilitate the receipt of real-time SMS alerts, or other forms of customer communications.

Customers can also choose to lower their daily ATM cash withdrawal limit at any branch and the bank strongly encourages its customers to refresh their PINs on a frequent basis for added protection.

ORIGINAL SOURCE
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