Municipal Services Office warns of phishing scam involving fake QR codes passing off as online service for residents' feedback

SINGAPORE — The Municipal Services Office (MSO) has warned members of public of a phishing scam involving a fraudulent quick response (QR) code masquerading as its online service for residents to send municipal feedback and complaints.

The office said in a statement on Friday (Jan 20) that the fake QR code found passing off as its OneService (OS) Lite QR code leads to a phishing website asking for personal information.  

In 2015, MSO launched the OneService mobile application to make it more convenient for users to send feedback on municipal issues in Singapore.

In 2020, a new QR code initiative called OneService Lite was started.

QR codes that linked users to the OneService webpage can be scanned at places frequented by residents, such as lift landings at Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates.

Users may then send their complaint or feedback through an online form without having to download the OneService app. 

MSO said that posters containing a fraudulent QR code masquerading as OneService Lite were discovered at lift lobbies of some HDB blocks at West Terra and West Edge estates in Bukit Batok.

These were discovered by West Edge Residents’ Committees late at night on Thursday, and "immediate action was taken to remove all those posters".

"The fraudulent QR code imitates the function of the OneService Lite, and users who scanned it were brought to a website containing an online form for them to provide feedback, and asking for their name, email address, contact number and address," MSO said. 

It has since alerted the town councils of the incident, and the town councils are conducting necessary checks on the OneService Lite QR codes in their estates.

A police report has also been filed, and the fraudulent website has been taken down and replaced by an advisory indicating that it is a suspected scam website.

MSO said that it is also assisting police in their investigations into the incident, and will continue to work with the town councils to monitor the estates for any fraudulent activities. 

"We urge members of the public to remain vigilant when accessing websites, and to always check if the website address is legitimate before submitting your personal details," MSO added. 

It also said that QR codes and links associated with OneService channels will always lead to websites with domains on “gov.sg”.

Should members of public have information related to this scam, they may submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. If a QR code or link claiming to be from OneService is a phishing attempt, they should email oneservice_community [at] mnd.gov.sg to report it.