More than 500 fake websites impersonating MHA, Home Team agencies taken down
Investigations so far showed no evidence that the fake websites were used to perpetrate scams or phish for information from members of the public, the ministry said on Wednesday (Aug 12).
Over 500 fraudulent websites, mimicking the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and seven Home Team agencies, have been dismantled, according to the ministry's announcement on Wednesday (Aug 12). The detection of these deceptive sites was attributed to the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) on Aug 10, with all identified domains taken down the subsequent day, as reported by MHA on their Facebook page.
The counterfeit websites replicated the official branding and content of MHA and the targeted agencies, potentially leading the public to believe they were visiting legitimate government websites.
However, investigations to date have found no evidence that these fake websites were utilized for scams or phishing activities or that MHA's or Home Team agencies' systems were compromised or accessed without authorization. Additionally, there is no indication that the fraudulent sites contained false information. MHA clarified that the websites did not employ government domain names ending in .gov.sg.
Ongoing investigations into the origin of the websites are underway, and MHA will continue to monitor the situation. The public is advised to remain cautious when accessing websites that claim to represent MHA or Home Team agencies. Official government websites end with .gov.sg, and individuals should verify website URLs carefully before submitting personal or sensitive information.
They should also be wary of unusual website addresses, spelling or grammatical errors, low-quality images, broken links, or pages and functions that do not function as expected.
Anyone encountering suspicious websites purportedly belonging to MHA or Home Team agencies is urged to report them to the police through the ScamShield Helpline or the i-Witness portal. MHA will persist in closely monitoring the situation and collaborate with relevant agencies and partners to identify and take suitable action against any websites that impersonate MHA or Home Team agencies.
Written by urgent.news from CNA - Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- More than 500 fake websites impersonating MHA, Home Team agencies taken down channelnewsasia.com
