SINGAPORE – Scammers have been creating fake websites made to look like those belonging to the Singapore authorities, tricking victims into divulging their personal information.
In the past, many of these sites were flagged only after the victims had done so.
But now, these sites are being actively hunted by a sentinel, built to screen half a million registered sites each day.
The Online Cybersquat Hunter (OCH), developed by the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX), was deployed just six months ago.
Using artificial intelligence with image and text analytics, it is able to pick up fake sites as soon as they are being registered, and before they can be used to trick potential victims.
Dr Terence Tan, deputy director of the Q1: Intel and Cyber department at HTX, said it had worked with inputs from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) Security Operations Centre and Singapore Police Force to develop the OCH and…