Retiree loses $71k in savings, incurs $6k credit card bill after installing fake Google Play app
The New Paper Apr 13, 2023
A 70-year-old retiree who received his $30,000 pension in January, lost all of it that very month, along with $40,000 of his life savings.
Using malware attached to a fake Google Play app for Android devices, cybercriminals emptied his DBS bank account in under two hours.
The man, identified as Lu, told Shin Min Daily News the incident occurred on January 29.
Lu said he received a call from DBS bank at 9am that morning, informing him of suspicious transactions that occurred in the wee hours of the night.
He was informed that about $71,000 was transferred to an overseas account, leaving only $2,000 behind. Lu immediately told the bank to freeze the account.
He made a police report and turned in his mobile device for investigation. It was later found that a Google Play app containing malware had been installed, which led to the theft of his personal data.
To make matters worse, the cybercriminals also racked up over $6,000 on his credit card.
Lu was told it was unlikely he would get his money back.
"The police told me that once money is transferred overseas it cannot be returned,” Lu said.
“That was my hard-earned savings, to lose it like that is heartbreaking. My wife and I have not been able to sleep well because of the incident.”
Lu was adamant that he was never prompted to provide any one-time passwords for the fraudulent transfers, nor did he click on any suspicious links.
Believing that the bank should account to some extent for the perceived security lapses, Lu is still hoping to hear from them regarding compensation.
In the meantime, he hopes his story will serve as a warning to others.
On Tuesday (April 11), the Singapore Police Force and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore released a joint statement warning about the "dangers of downloading applications from third party or dubious sites".
They also advised the public on steps to ensure all information communications technology (ICT) devices, including computers and mobile phones, are adequately protected.
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