How to spot potential scam messages on iOS and Android
+
By
+ How to spot potential scam messages on iOS and Android
+
This article is contributed by Carmen Sin, and a version of it first appeared in The Straits Times, an SPH publication, on December 21, 2024.
+ +Scammers evolving with the times
+ +SINGAPORE—Scam messages are on the rise. In December, at least 17 Land Transport Authority (LTA) phishing cases were reported, and S$33,000 was lost.
+ +The police said on December 19 that more than half of the cases involved grifters texting victims on online messaging platforms such as Apple’s iMessage or Android’s Rich Communication Services (RCS), posing as OneMotoring or LTA officials looking to collect unpaid bills.
+ +The hoax messages often say there is a deadline for payment and contain a link directing victims to phishing sites, where they are prompted to enter their banking and personal details.
+ +The surge follows a slowdown in such scams since the SMS Sender ID Registry (SSIR) scheme began on January 31, 2023, which automatically tags all non-registered SMS sender IDs as likely scams. For now, the registry applies only to SMS messages and not online messaging apps.
+ +Consequently, criminals have “pivoted to other means” of executing the same ruse, said the police.
+ + + +Unmasking scammers like unmasking our NRICs
+ +However, it can be confusing when scam messages sent via online messaging platforms appear next to legitimate SMSes, such as those from authorities registered with SSIR.
+ +Furthermore, scammers can rename group chats to seem to have been set up by organisations using legitimate sender IDs in SMS messages. A mobile device will automatically queue the scam chats with users’ previous legitimate chats.
+ +Here is how to tell an iMessage or RCS text from an SMS:
+ + + +1. Text bubble icon on user’s icon
+ +
If a text bubble icon appears on the bottom right of a user icon in a conversation, it indicates that the last message sent was an RCS message – the Android messaging platform – and not an SMS, said the police.
+ + + +2. Different prompts
+ +
Within the conversation, an RCS message will be marked “RCS chat with XX”. When the message is an SMS, the same prompt will say “Texting with XX (SMS/MMS)”.
+ +
3. Group chats on Android devices
+ +For group chats, the contact’s profile picture will display icons of multiple contacts from the group.
+ +
A line above the first message will state when the group was created and by whom.
+ +The text input box will display the words “RCS message”.
+ + + +4. Spam warnings on Google Messages
+ +When using this messaging platform, look for spam warnings, which appear with the “G” shield and the header “Why this looks like spam.” This means that Google Messages has identified the message as spam, which is a further sign that the text may be suspicious.
+ + + +5. iOS's iMessage prompts (blue versus green)
+ +
If a message is sent with iMessage – which means it is not an SMS – the chat will show “iMessage” at the top of the conversation and in the text field. For SMSes, it will say “Text Message”.
+ +
The police suggest that Apple users enable the “Show Contact Photos” option. With this function, iMessage group chat headers in a conversation will also show the icons of the accounts added to the chat. When this function is not enabled, only a text header appears.
+ +
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
diff --git a/src/extractors/custom/index.js b/src/extractors/custom/index.js
index e7d7d86..a209220 100644
--- a/src/extractors/custom/index.js
+++ b/src/extractors/custom/index.js
@@ -145,3 +145,4 @@ export * from './www.versants.com';
export * from './www.1pezeshk.com';
export * from './www.androidauthority.com';
export * from './techcrunch.com';
+export * from './www.hardwarezone.com.sg';
diff --git a/src/extractors/custom/www.hardwarezone.com.sg/index.js b/src/extractors/custom/www.hardwarezone.com.sg/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..15f0a53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/extractors/custom/www.hardwarezone.com.sg/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+export const WwwHardwarezoneComSgExtractor = {
+ domain: 'www.hardwarezone.com.sg',
+
+ title: {
+ selectors: [['meta[name="og:title"]', 'value']],
+ },
+
+ author: {
+ selectors: ['.article-view-author-name a'],
+ },
+
+ date_published: {
+ selectors: ['.article-view-timestamp'],
+ timezone: 'UTC',
+ },
+
+ lead_image_url: {
+ selectors: [['meta[name="og:image"]', 'value']],
+ },
+
+ content: {
+ selectors: ['.content'],
+ transforms: {},
+ clean: [],
+ },
+};
diff --git a/src/extractors/custom/www.hardwarezone.com.sg/index.test.js b/src/extractors/custom/www.hardwarezone.com.sg/index.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b0e3ca4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/extractors/custom/www.hardwarezone.com.sg/index.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import assert from 'assert';
+import URL from 'url';
+import cheerio from 'cheerio';
+
+import Parser from 'mercury';
+import getExtractor from 'extractors/get-extractor';
+import { excerptContent } from 'utils/text';
+
+const fs = require('fs');
+
+describe('WwwHardwarezoneComSgExtractor', () => {
+ describe('initial test case', () => {
+ let result;
+ let url;
+ beforeAll(() => {
+ url =
+ 'https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-how-spot-potential-scam-messages-ios-and-android-singapore-rcs-sms';
+ const html = fs.readFileSync(
+ './fixtures/www.hardwarezone.com.sg/1736024727516.html'
+ );
+ result = Parser.parse(url, { html, fallback: false });
+ });
+
+ it('is selected properly', () => {
+ const extractor = getExtractor(url);
+ assert.equal(extractor.domain, URL.parse(url).hostname);
+ });
+
+ it('returns the title', async () => {
+ const { title } = await result;
+
+ assert.equal(
+ title,
+ `How to spot potential scam messages on iOS and Android`
+ );
+ });
+
+ it('returns the author', async () => {
+ const { author } = await result;
+
+ assert.equal(author, 'Team HardwareZone');
+ });
+
+ it('returns the date_published', async () => {
+ const { date_published } = await result;
+
+ assert.equal(date_published, '2024-12-21T00:00:00.000Z');
+ });
+
+ it('returns the lead_image_url', async () => {
+ const { lead_image_url } = await result;
+
+ assert.equal(
+ lead_image_url,
+ `https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/thumbs/714207/og.jpg?b3c6`
+ );
+ });
+
+ it('returns the content', async () => {
+ const { content } = await result;
+
+ const $ = cheerio.load(content || '');
+
+ const first13 = excerptContent(
+ $('*')
+ .first()
+ .text(),
+ 13
+ );
+
+ assert.equal(
+ first13,
+ 'This article is contributed by Carmen Sin, and a version of it first'
+ );
+ });
+ });
+});