CPF to standardise SMS sender ID to 'CPF Board' to combat scams

SINGAPORE: The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board will send SMSes using only the sender ID “CPF Board” on matters pertaining to CPF, Workfare and Silver Support from Aug 1.

It will also stop using sender IDs “SG-Workfare” and “SG-SSS”.

In a news release on Monday (Jul 18), the CPF Board added that it has also registered the new sender ID with the Singapore SMS Sender ID Registry (SSIR) set up by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

The registry, originally meant to combat SMS spoofing, was shut down and replaced by a full-fledged system in March, after IMDA said a spate of SMS phishing scams warranted a "strong response".

CPF Board said the registration of the new sender ID will prevent scammers from impersonating it.

"Registering with SSIR identifies and blocks spoofed messages upfront. Only SMSes from CPF Board will be delivered using the sender ID 'CPF Board'."

"Members can be assured that all SMSes from sender ID 'CPF Board' are legitimate messages from us."

Those who have registered their mobile numbers will receive an SMS from Jul 20 regarding this change.

"We encourage members to retain this SMS on their mobile phones so that members can be assured that any future SMSes received on this same sender ID would be legitimate," the CPF Board said.

"Any SMSes purporting to be sent by CPF Board on any other Sender ID should be ignored and deleted."

Members of the public were also reminded to remain alert and recognise scam signs:

• Check if links leading to Government websites contain the domain ".gov.sg".
• Reject calls with the prefix "+65", as they are likely to be overseas calls.
• When in doubt, always verify the information directly with the Government agency or through official websites.