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'I won't let you contact DBS': Senior left helpless as scammers take control of phone

When a woman tried to prevent her father from being scammed, they were taunted by the fraudsters who had taken over the senior's phone using malware."I won't let you contact DBS and fraud team," read the message flashed on the screen of the locked phone.The incident occurred on Tuesday (Sept 22), reported Lianhe Zaobao.Speaking to the Chinese daily, Nicole Laurens,...

AsiaOne Singapore2026-09-24 11:49查看原文 ↗

'I won't let you contact DBS': Senior left helpless as scammers take control of phone

When a woman tried to prevent her father from being scammed, they were taunted by the fraudsters who had taken over the senior's phone using malware.

"I won't let you contact DBS and fraud team," read the message flashed on the screen of the locked phone.

The incident occurred on Tuesday (Sept 22), reported Lianhe Zaobao.

Speaking to the Chinese daily, Nicole Laurens, 33, said her elderly father received a WhatsApp message from the "DBS Fraud Department" regarding a suspicious transaction of $50,000 and requesting a call back.

Laurens said her father, who is nearing his 70s, called the number written in the message and was asked to provide his banking credentials. He did not comply.

Upon learning of his situation, the woman contacted the official bank hotline to verify the message — which was when her father's phone suddenly shut off and displayed the message.

A green indicator light also appeared, possibly meaning that an app is using the phone's microphone and camera.

"My father wasn't using the phone, but it suddenly went black and became completely unresponsive," Laurens added.

Thankfully, the bank confirmed that her father's funds are safe, reported Zaobao.

Laurens turned off the phone, placed it in another room, and later restarted it in Safe Mode.

She said her father also froze his bank monies, changed his card, and lodged a police report.

According to the woman, her father had downloaded a suspicious "Water Fitness" app prior to the incident.

A "Water Fitness staff member" guided him to change his phone's privacy settings and download the app from the Google Play Store, Laurens said.

Following this, the phone reportedly showed strange activity, including feeling hot and apps opening and closing by themselves.

Laurens told Zaobao she is unclear if the "Water Fitness" app is linked to the scam attempt.

Steps to take if device is hacked

According to the ScamShield website, a compromised device may also have signs including performance and battery issues, and high data usage.

The police had previously said those who have installed a suspicious application, or suspect their device is infected with malware should turn on "flight mode" and run an anti-virus or Google Play Protect scan.

Then, check your bank account, Singpass and CPF for any unauthorised transactions.

One should keep your device in "flight mode" and report the incident to the police.

Only after the matter is reported to the police should one perform a "factory reset" of your device and change important passwords.

lim.kewei@asiaone.com

一位母亲试图阻止父亲被骗，却遭到诈骗分子的嘲讽，这些诈骗分子利用恶意软件控制了老人的手机。

“我不会让你联系星展银行和反欺诈团队，”锁屏手机屏幕上闪现出这样一条信息。

据《联合早报》报道，该事件发生在周二（9月22日）。

33岁的妮可·劳伦斯在接受中国日报采访时表示，她年迈的父亲收到了一条来自“星展银行反欺诈部门”的WhatsApp消息，内容是关于一笔5万美元的可疑交易，并要求回电。

劳伦斯说，她年近七旬的父亲拨打了留言中留下的号码，对方要求他提供银行账户信息。他没有配合。

得知父亲的情况后，这名女子联系了银行官方热线核实消息——这时她父亲的手机突然关机并显示了这条消息。

同时还出现了一个绿色指示灯，这可能意味着某个应用程序正在使用手机的麦克风和摄像头。

“我父亲当时并没有使用手机，但手机突然黑屏，完全没有反应了，”劳伦斯补充道。