Banks in Singapore are set to remove clickable links in emails and text messages sent to retail customers after a spate of SMS phishing scams.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) say that the move, along with a host of other measures, will be put in place within the next two weeks.
Earlier this week, OCBC Bank revealed that nearly 470 customers lost at least $8.5 million in December after scammers posed as the lender and sent SMS's with links to phishing sites to victims.
Yesterday, DBS warned its customers about a similar scam in which an SMS claiming to be from the bank told victims' that their account had been suspended and asked them to click on a link.
OCBC has begun making goodwill payouts to victims but the industry is now taking more proactive measures. In addition to removing links, banks will set a threshold for funds transfer transaction notifications to customers to be set by default at $100 or lower.
There will also be a delay of at least 12 hours before activation of a new soft token on a mobile device, while a notification will be sent to existing mobile numbers or emails registered with the bank whenever there is a request to change a number or address.