Man arrested for allegedly putting up fake Municipal Services Office QR codes around Bukit Batok to collect personal data

SINGAPORE — A 39-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly put up quick response (QR) codes around Bukit Batok that made it seem like it was from a government agency asking for residents’ personal particulars.

In a joint press release on Friday (Feb 3), the police and the Municipal Services Office (MSO) said that the man was arrested on Jan 26 for his suspected involvement in a series of fraudulent OneService Lite QR codes that were pasted at the Bukit Batok estate.

He is believed to be involved in several similar cases here.

Two weeks ago, MSO had warned of a phishing scam involving a fraudulent OneService Lite QR code masquerading as its online service for residents to send municipal feedback and complaints.

The QR codes lead to a phishing website asking for personal information, and these were found at the lift lobbies of some public housing blocks at West Terra and West Edge estates in Bukit Batok. 

TODAY has asked the authorities to confirm if these were the cases related to the suspect. 

In the joint release, it was stated that the police received reports of fraudulent QR codes for OneService Lite being put up at lift lobbies between December last year and January.

These QR codes and the website that was linked to them have since been taken down, they added.

"MSO has also alerted all town councils to the incident, and the town councils have conducted necessary checks on the OneService Lite QR codes in their towns."

Police investigations are still ongoing.

If found guilty of illegally obtaining personal information, the man may be jailed for up to three years or fined up to S$10,000, or both.

In 2020, MSO launched OneService Lite, where QR codes that linked users to the OneService webpage can be scanned at places frequented by residents, such as lift landings at housing estates.

Users may then submit their complaint or feedback through an online form without having to download the OneService mobile application. 

"We urge members of the public to remain vigilant when accessing websites, and to always check the authenticity of the website before providing your personal details," the police and MSO said.

QR codes and links associated with OneService always lead to websites on the “gov.sg” domain — in this case, www.oneservice.gov.sg — they added.

All OneService feedback channels do not collect any personally identifiable information.

OneService Lite users who want to be updated on their cases need to give their mobile number — which will be verified using a one-time password — and how they would like to be addressed.

Residents are also reminded that genuine OneService Lite QR codes are A4-sized and printed on wall-mounted, hard acrylic boards. They may also continue to use the OneService app or LifeSG app to give feedback.

For more information on scams, members of the public may go online to scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688.

Anyone with information on such scams may call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.