Beware of fake SingHealth calls, messages on cyber attack, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
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Beware of fake SingHealth calls, messages on cyber attack

This article is more than 12 months old

If you receive a phone call from "SingHealth" asking for your personal or financial information, beware.

SingHealth has alerted the public to suspicious phone calls that have surfaced in the wake of the recent cyber attack.

In a Facebook post yesterday, SingHealth said patients would be informed if their data had been leaked by SMS or letter only. The healthcare group added that it will not contact patients via the phone unless they have been expecting a call.

Recipients of the scam phone call should call the police anti-scam helpline on 1800-722-6688.

On Sunday, SingHealth also advised the public on what a genuine SMS notification should look like, after some people said they had received fake messages.

SingHealth said in a Facebook post that recipients should check that the sender is SingHealth.

The links in the message are www.singhealth.com.sg/cyberattack or bit.ly/cyber-attack18

Last Friday, SingHealth warned patients against fake messages saying that an individual's personal data, telephone numbers, financial details and medical records have been accessed.

This comes after the authorities announced hackers had infiltrated the computers of SingHealth in an unprecedented breach of personal data here.

The 1.5 million patients who were affected had visited SingHealth between May 1, 2015, and July 4 this year.

Among them, 160,000 people - including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and a few ministers - had their outpatient prescriptions stolen as well.

SingHealth last Friday began contacting all patients who had visited its specialist outpatient clinics and polyclinics during the period to notify them if their data had been stolen.

As of Saturday, more than 700,000 patients have been notified via SMS.

The remaining patients should have received their SMS notification yesterday, while some 150,000 patients who did not register their mobile numbers with SingHealth will receive letters informing them about whether they are affected within a week.

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