'I won't let you contact DBS': S'pore man, 66, has phone remotely accessed after receiving message of S$50,000 transaction
His wife had signed him up for a fitness class after coming across an ad on Facebook.
A 66-year-old Singaporean man found himself in a troubling situation after downloading an app he believed was for an aerobics class. The app, named "Water Fitness," was downloaded from the Android app store and linked the man's phone with various functions, including accessing the camera and microphone.
Meanwhile, his daughter Nicole received a message from DBS, Singapore's largest bank, about a suspicious S$50,000 transaction on her dad's account. Believing the message to be genuine, her father and his family contacted DBS to verify the transaction. During this call, Nicole noticed that her dad's phone screen was locked with a message saying, "I won't let you contact DBS and fraud team."
Nicole quickly shut off her dad's phone and placed it face down. Upon further investigation, they discovered that the phone had been remotely accessed and controlled. The family then called DBS to secure their dad's account. No money had been stolen from his accounts, but as a precaution, his SIM card was replaced, and the phone was wiped clean.
Nicole drew attention to the dangers of AI-generated content and the elderly's difficulty in distinguishing between real and AI posts. She advised her parents to use Trustpilot to verify the authenticity of websites and warned them about AI content sites. The episode left Nicole's dad "very sad and frustrated," and he has become cautious about using his phone, preferring to do things the traditional way.
Written by urgent.news from Mothership's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
