Got a pop-up alert from the police to pay 'outstanding fines' on your devices? It's fake

If a pop-up alert bearing the police logo appears on your device asking you to pay "outstanding fines", do not click on it.

Police said in an advisory issued on Sunday (Sept 20) night that they've observed the re-emergence of phishing scams involving fraudulent pop-up alerts impersonating them.

According to the police, victims were told in such alerts that their personal devices had been "locked" for repeatedly accessing websites containing illegal content.

They were then instructed to pay purportedly outstanding fines within hours to unlock their devices.

Victims were also told that their devices may be permanently locked and they could face prosecution if the fines were not paid.

A countdown timer is also displayed on such alerts to create a sense of urgency and pressure victims into providing their bank card details to make payment.

They would only realise that they have been scammed when unauthorised transactions in foreign currency were charged to their bank cards, often amounting to more than the purported fines.

Members of the public are reminded that the police do not remotely lock personal devices, such as computers or laptops, or demand payment through pop-up alerts.

When in doubt, they may call the 24/7 ScamShield helpline at 1799 to check.

如果您的设备上出现带有警察标志的弹出式警报，要求您支付“未缴罚款”，请不要点击它。

警方在周日（9 月 20 日）晚间发布的公告中表示，他们注意到网络钓鱼诈骗再次出现，诈骗分子会弹出虚假警报冒充警方。

警方表示，此类警报会告知受害者，他们的个人设备因多次访问含有非法内容的网站而被“锁定”。

随后，他们被告知必须在数小时内缴纳据称未缴的罚款才能解锁设备。

受害者还被告知，如果不缴纳罚款，他们的设备可能会被永久锁定，并且他们可能会面临起诉。

此类警报中还会显示倒计时，以营造紧迫感，迫使受害者提供银行卡信息进行支付。

只有当他们的银行卡上被收取未经授权的外币交易费用时，他们才会意识到自己被骗了，而且金额往往比所谓的罚款还要多。

提醒公众，警方不会远程锁定个人设备（例如电脑或笔记本电脑），也不会通过弹出式警报索要费用。

如有疑问，他们可以拨打 24/7 ScamShield 热线 1799 进行查询。