Parcel Phone Scam Alert - POSB

Parcel Phone Scam Alert - POSB

Date: 1 June 2016
Threat Type: Phishing Calls

Description: A phishing campaign is targeting Singapore residents with automated phone calls. The calls start with an automated voice message in Mandarin, claiming to be a courier company and that their parcel had not been picked up. The call recipient is then directed to enter “0” or “9”. This connects them to a Mandarin-speaking person posing as a courier staff member who will claim that the parcel held contains prohibited items e.g. fake passports or weapons. The alleged staff member will request personal and/or bank information, or transfer the call to another person who will claim to be a customs or police officer. This person will in turn request personal and/or bank information or instruct the call recipient to remit money to an overseas bank account to avoid action from authorities.

Who might be at risk?
Customers with DBS accounts.

How can you protect yourself from this?

1. Be alert. Do not provide personal or bank information or remit money based on the advice of unsolicited callers.
2. Never give out any sensitive personal information (including login passwords or one-time passwords) over the phone or via email. Our staff will never ask you for such information.
3. Please inform our customer centre at 1800 111 1111 or +65 6327 2265 (when calling from overseas) immediately if you receive such calls or have disclosed your personal or bank information to unsolicited callers.
4. For more information on such scams, please visit http://www.scamalert.sg/scams/impersonation-scam.html

- wong chee tat :)

M1 apologises and offers free calls

M1 apologises and offers free calls

POSTED: 04 Feb 2014 19:55

M1's CEO issues apology over service disruption on Tuesday and offers one day of free local mobile calls, local SMS and MMS "as a goodwill gesture”.

SINGAPORE: Telco M1 says a call processing software issue was the reason for the disruption to mobile services early Tuesday.

In a statement released on Tuesday evening, its Chief Executive Officer, Ms Karen Kooi, apologised and offered M1 customers one day of free local mobile calls, local SMS and MMS on Sunday "as a goodwill gesture”.

M1 customers were hit with a disruption in service from around 7am on Tuesday with many unable to make calls and also problems in receiving emails or data in various areas around Singapore, including Jurong, Choa Chu Kang and Raffles Place.

M1 said in its statement "our preliminary investigations suggest that a call processing software issue had unexpectedly prevented our customers’ devices from registering on the mobile network.

"A full investigation will be performed to determine the root cause of the incident."

The telco also said that the company immediately focused its efforts to restore services but the complexity of the network required it to troubleshoot the numerous interlinked network entities and full service was restored at 12:15pm.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers" said CEO Karen Kooi.

"We take this incident very seriously, and in addition to our own investigation, we will be appointing an independent expert to conduct a network architecture and connectivity review”.

- CNA/sf

- wong chee tat :)

M1 mobile services restored after disruption

M1 mobile services restored after disruption

POSTED: 04 Feb 2014 13:29
UPDATED: 04 Feb 2014 20:04

M1 customers were hit with a disruption in service from around 7am on Tuesday. Callers to Channel NewsAsia said they could not receive nor make calls on their M1 mobile lines. This latest disruption, which was largely resolved by 12.45pm on Tuesday, follows recent issues involving M1.

SINGAPORE: M1 customers were hit with a disruption in service from around 7am on Tuesday.

Callers to Channel NewsAsia said they could not receive nor make calls on their M1 mobile lines.

Many also had problems receiving emails or data in various areas around Singapore, including Jurong, Choa Chu Kang and Raffles Place.

In a posting on its Facebook page at about 8.20am on Tuesday, M1 said some of its customers would have had difficulties sending text messages or making voice calls.

M1 said preliminary investigations suggest that a call processing software issue had unexpectedly prevented customers' devices from registering on the mobile network.

This latest disruption, which was largely resolved by 12.15pm on Tuesday, follows recent issues involving M1.

Less than two weeks ago, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore imposed a fine of S$25,000 on M1 for failing to meet some of its outdoor coverage requirements.

This was two months after a record S$1.5-million fine was slapped on the telco for a 71-hour service outage that occurred in January last year.

Chief Executive Officer for M1 Karen Kooi apologised for the inconvenience and said they will appoint an independent expert to review their systems.

In the meantime, Ms Kooi said M1 would offer customers free local mobile calls, local SMS and MMS on Sunday as a goodwill gesture.

- CNA/ac/xq

- wong chee tat :)

M1 subscribers report problems with calls, text messages

M1 subscribers report problems with calls, text messages

The M1 mobile network hit a snag on Tuesday morning -- callers to Channel NewsAsia's news hotline said they could not receive nor make calls on their M1 mobile lines from about 8am on Tuesday morning.

Callers to Channel NewsAsia's news hotline said they could not receive nor make calls on their M1 mobile lines from about 8am on Tuesday.

Posting on its Facebook page at about 8.20am, M1 said some of its customers may be experiencing difficulties sending text messages or making voice calls. The telco added that it was rectifying the issue and apologised for the inconvenience.

Responding to Channel NewsAsia's query, the telco said: "At about 7am, some M1 customers began experiencing intermittent voice and SMS service access. M1's mobile data services are not affected."

Tagging to the telco's Facebook post, mobile subscribers wrote that they could not make nor receive phone calls from various areas of Singapore, including Jurong, Choa Chu Kang and Raffles Place.

Some said they could access the internet despite difficulties with calls and text messages.

There are also users, however, who said they could not access the internet.

- CNA/ac

- wong chee tat :)

SingTel to boost mobile data speed in crowded locations

SingTel to boost mobile data speed in crowded locations
    POSTED: 10 Dec 2013 14:10

SingTel said faster mobile internet connection in crowded places is on the cards for its customers. To make that happen, it is rolling out small cell technology at some 20 sites -- including concert venues, malls, commercial and residential buildings.

SINGAPORE: SingTel said faster mobile internet connection in crowded places is on the cards for its customers. To make that happen, it is rolling out small cell technology at some 20 sites -- including concert venues, malls, commercial and residential buildings.

The telco said it is carrying out this work progressively and intends to complete it in three to four months.

Working hand-in-hand with small cell technology is a mobile network management solution called self-organising networks.

This software technology, which is already in place, allows slack network capacity in one area to be dynamically reallocated to ease demand elsewhere.

The telco said with both enhancements, mobile internet access for its subscribers should be up to 20 per cent faster at the 20 selected sites.

The chances of its customers getting a dropped call at these crowded locations should also reduce by as much as 40 per cent, it added.

- CNA/ac

- wong chee tat :)

StarHub elbows out iCELL as provider of Singapore's free wi-fi program

StarHub elbows out iCELL as provider of Singapore's free wi-fi program

 - Singapore Business Review

It also joins M1 and SingTel on board.

Current Wireless@SG users and potential users can look forward to having more choices as new Wireless@SG operators came on board for the Next Phase of the Wireless@SG programme with effect from 1 April 2013.

StarHub joins M1 and SingTel as Wireless@SG operators after the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore dropped iCELL--a local systems integrator--out of the list of providers. The IDA said that iCELL did not meet the standards of the next phase of Wireless@SG.

All three mobile operators – M1, SingTel and StarHub – will be on board as Wireless@SG operators. Y5Zone Singapore Pte Ltd, a Wi-Fi service provider will also be on board as a Wireless@SG operator.

Y5Zone Singapore is part of the Y5Zone International Group which has a regional headquarters in Hong Kong and its core business is in operating public Wi-Fi networks.

Existing Wireless@SG users could choose to retain their existing accounts with M1 or SingTel. They could also sign up with the new operators, StarHub and Y5Zone, when these operators start Wireless@SG account registration at a later date.

Users who have existing accounts with iCELL, which would cease to be a Wireless@SG operator with effect from 1 July 2013, could also choose to register a new account with M1 and SingTel now or with StarHub and Y5Zone at a later date. For iCELL users who already have Wireless@SG accounts with other operators, they could use the alternative accounts to access Wireless@SG as these accounts will remain valid.

The three mobile operators – M1, SingTel and StarHub – are also preparing for the implementation of interoperable SIM-based authentication which allows a one-time configuration of mobile phones for automatic detection and log-in to the Wireless@SG network with effect from 1 April 2014. The operators will advise the procedures of configuration details in due course.

Web-based login and Seamless Secure Access (SSA) will continue to be offered as login methods alongside SIM-based authentication.



- wong chee tat :)

Starhub to implement a ‘one-minute minimum charge’

Starhub to implement a ‘one-minute minimum charge’

Yahoo! Newsroom
By Nurul Azliah Aripin | Yahoo! Newsroom –

Starhub’s mobile customers have to pay 16.05 cents for the first minute of each local outgoing call starting 1 May, even for talk times shorter than one minute.

This means that customers will have to pay more than they do now for calls lasting less than 60 seconds, according to information found on the telco’s website.

Starhub customers are currently being billed at about 0.27 cents per second from the start of each local outgoing call.

By next month, a one-minute charge will be fixed to each call before customers are billed on a per second basis starting from the 61st second of talk time, according to Starhub’s corporate communications and investor relations person, Cassie Fong.

The new billing method will apply to all mobile post-paid customers when they make local outgoing calls through voice or 3G video.

Fong, who noted that Starhub has been billing their customers on a per second basis for the past 13 years, added that the company has decided to implement the new method instead of increasing call rates amid rising costs of “network maintenance, upgrade and expansion”.

Since April, the telco has been notifying their customers on the new billing method through their website as well as notices sent to customers together with their bills, she said. Customers who want to sign up or renew their mobile plans, will also be informed by the staff available at Starhub stores.

Furthermore, Fong said that customers would not see a “significant difference” in their charges as most customers use their outgoing calls within their monthly talk-time bundle.



- wong chee tat :)

New BlackBerry phone launched in US in key test

New BlackBerry phone launched in US in key test
Posted: 23 March 2013 0420 hrs
     
WASHINGTON: The newest version of the BlackBerry smartphone went on sale in the United States on Friday in what is seen as a crucial test for the struggling tech firm.

The BlackBerry Z10, the first phone using the new BlackBerry 10 platform, is being sold through T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and at US retailer Best Buy.

The new platform is seen as the Canadian firm's last opportunity to regain ground in a market dominated by Google's Android and Apple's iOS operating systems.

The touchscreen Z10 was already launched in other markets, including Britain, Australia and Indonesia. The company also plans a model with a physical keyboard called Q10.

While the launch lacked the crowds seen for the iPhone, an event held in New York's Times Square and recounted on the BlackBerry blog showed interest among US customers to be the first to get the device just after midnight.

"Here's Manny, an eager fan who 'just had to be the first' to get his hands on the new BlackBerry Z10 in the United States," said a caption for a picture on the blog. "He was met with cheers from the crowd as he held up his newly activated device."

While the new device has received generally positive reviews, analysts say it will be an uphill battle for BlackBerry, which has lost much of its market share.

According to research firm IDC, BlackBerry's global market share fell to 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, from 8.1 percent a year earlier.

Gartner analyst Van Baker said it will be difficult to recoup those losses.

"Although BB10 presents a modernized new platform based on touch technology, market conditions will make it extremely difficult for BlackBerry to rise above iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 platforms," Baker said in a blog post.

"In fact, Gartner predicts that through 2016, BlackBerry will achieve less than five percent worldwide smartphone market share."

BlackBerry said this week it has 100,000 apps for the BB10 platform, with 30,000 added in the past seven weeks.

"The response to the BlackBerry 10 platform and applications has been outstanding," said company spokesman Martyn Mallick.

"We constantly hear from developers that the BlackBerry 10 tools are easy to build with and that we provide opportunities for app differentiation that they do not see on other platforms."

The company also announced it had teamed with global music distributor Zimbalam to provide a platform for independent musicians who are BlackBerry customers.

- AFP/de

- wong chee tat :)

Banks moving towards mobile banking

Banks moving towards mobile banking
By Mike Firn | Posted: 01 March 2013 2243 hrs
     
SINGAPORE: Bankers and software designers are meeting in Singapore to discuss how to take advantage of smartphones and tablets to expand their business.

Banks are shifting investment, from brick and mortar branches packed with staff to slick IT solutions.

Singapore software company Tagit is tailoring solutions differently for emerging markets like Indonesia and the Philippines, and banks with established networks in developed countries like Japan and Australia.

Sandeep Bagaria, CEO of Tagit, explained: "If you think of emerging markets, the innovation is coming around 'how do I reach a large mass of people using the mobile application and then necessarily providing new innovative services?' In developed markets, it's 'how can I provide them with more facilities, more services than I would do before?'"

But analysts say the rise of internet and mobile banking does not mean high-street bank branches are going to disappear. They say it may even get better.

Ho Sui-Jon, IDC associate market analyst, said: "If I go to a branch I would expect to get an experience that I cannot get from an ATM or browser-based banking. So all these branches are being re-tailored towards what we call 'flagship branch models', where we are trying to augment experience-driven technology augmented features."

For customers used to sitting down with their local bank manager, the idea of putting an app on their mobile may not seem appealing.

Mr Bagaria assured consumers who fear losing their phones: "It's not that the mobile app gets activated just because the phone is there. I need to put in a token when I need to do a transaction so the security levels are similar. It doesn't matter that you've left your phone behind."

With research group IDC forecasting that users in Asia will own half the world's smartphones within three years, mobile banking is likely to be a core strategy of the region's lenders.

- CNA/xq

- wong chee tat :)

Flat to low-single-digit growth for S'pore telcos in 2013: analysts

Flat to low-single-digit growth for S'pore telcos in 2013: analysts
By Thomas Cho | Posted: 17 December 2012 1831 hrs
     
SINGAPORE: The three main telco operators in Singapore will have a tough year ahead as analysts expect flat to low-single-digit revenue growth, despite the rollout of the high speed 4G network.

The telcos face slowing industry-wide growth and loss of sales in core voice and data markets as their hip, young, internet-based competitors offering free services are stealing market share.

Yet, digital and mobile is where Singapore's biggest telco is placing its biggest bet on.

SingTel's group CEO, Chua Sock Koong, said: "Growing the top line would involve better monetisation of mobile data, which is a fast growing area, (and) looking at new revenue sources -- that's where our investments in a lot of digital life investments will come true."

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), vendors will ship more than 1.7 billion mobile phones globally this year.

But the long queues for new releases of smartphones like iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy Note 2 do not immediately translate into higher revenue for SingTel, StarHub and M1.

OCBC Research's senior research manager, Carey Wong, said: "Singapore's penetration rate is already close to 150 percent. It is a very mature market. Any raise in ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) would probably take some time to flow through.

"We are also seeing a little bit of subscriber growth since the penetration is so high. We think low single-digit is probably correct for such mature market."

New revenue may come from the telcos moving into content and infrastructure and may also tap upstream customers like government agencies and corporations.

Standard Chartered Bank's director of technology and global equity research, Don See, said: "We need to see telcos demonstrate willingness to be more entrepreneurial -- to try out new things and to actually have a more bigger willingness to step away from their legacy business to capture some of these growth opportunities."

StarHub has been the outperformer in 2012 with its shares up by 33 percent.

SingTel and M1 have both climbed about 10 percent.

- CNA/lp

- wong chee tat :)

S'poreans turn to social media for travel & food products: report

S'poreans turn to social media for travel & food products: report
Posted: 05 December 2012 1107 hrs
     
SINGAPORE: A new report showed that social media is playing an increasing role in influencing Singaporean consumers' purchasing decisions, when it comes to food and travel.

The latest annual global Nielson Social Media Report showed that when it comes to choosing a restaurant (68 per cent) or a food and beverage product (67 per cent), more than two thirds of Singaporeans turn to social media websites or online reviews.

Nearly seven in 10 (67 per cent) also said they'd choose travel related products based on positive recommendations shared online.

The food, beverage, leisure and entertainment categories were also the most discussed products via social networking in Singapore, in the past year.

A third of Singaporeans post comments online about brands, at least once a week. And they're the most mobile compared to respondents from other countries.

Across the globe, Singapore has the highest usage of social media via mobile phone.

Seven in 10 consumers (70 per cent) here log on to social media via their mobile phone. The figure is 23 percentage points higher than the global average of 47 per cent.

Managing director of Nielsen for Singapore and Malaysia, Joan Koh, said: "With the increasing relevance and engagement levels of social media, we are now able to see a direct correlation between positive social media sentiment and actual intent to purchase products and services, especially for those operating in the food and beverage, travel and entertainment sectors.

"Social media represents a huge opportunity for brands to gain positive favour with consumers and savvy marketers can harness the growing influence of social media to impact business."

Compared to Singaporean consumers, those from the region said the top three categories where purchasing decision is most influenced by social media are - electronics (75 per cent), entertainment (74 per cent) and clothing (74 per cent).

- CNA/ck

- wong chee tat :)

Experts caution against toddlers getting too familiar with devices

Experts caution against toddlers getting too familiar with devices
By Evelyn Lam, Dylan Loh | Posted: 24 November 2012 2242 hrs

SINGAPORE: Experts have cautioned against letting toddlers three years old and below, get too familiar with mobile devices.

They said it might hamper their ability to learn as they grow.

Three-year-old Randy Smith has been playing with an iPad since the age of two, and his parents said he is quite familiar with some of the more advanced features in the mobile device.

Experts said children this young should spend more time interacting with their physical environment.

They said interacting too much with a virtual interface could interfere with a child's ability to understand the world around him.

Colin Smith, father of Randy Smith, said: "There was once when we just left him (Randy) to go to bed with an iPad.

"We didn't check on him till about two hours later because both of us were working at home and when we got to him, we found that he had been playing for the past two hours and didn't want to go to sleep."

- CNA/lp

- wong chee tat :)