Catholic Church warns public about WhatsApp phishing scams related to Pope’s visit to Singapore

 

SINGAPORE - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore has reminded those keen on attending Pope Francis’ mass in Singapore that WhatsApp or other instant messaging apps will not be used in general ticketing or balloting processes.

 

In a statement on its website on June 23, it said it has received reports of Catholics having their WhatsApp accounts taken over by scammers who claimed to be helping them with the papal mass ticket registration process.

 

Pope Francis will visit Singapore from Sept 11 to 13, and will celebrate mass on Sept 12.

 

More than 40,000 tickets will be available to the public in the online ballot, which is open to anyone in Singapore with a valid account on the myCatholicSG portal.

 

The archdiocese said: “Scammers, having gained access to the WhatsApp accounts of those on your contact list, masquerade as your contacts and ask you to generate and send them a WhatsApp verification code on the pretext of helping you with the mass ticket registration.

 

“They then use this code to hijack your WhatsApp account, gaining access to your contact list to perpetuate the scam.”

 

The Straits Times has reached out to the archdiocese for more information.

 

“We urge everyone to remain vigilant and not fall prey to these scams... Please note that WhatsApp or other instant messaging apps such as SMS or Telegram will not be used in general ticketing or balloting processes,” the statement said.

 

The archdiocese said registration for the ticket ballot begins on June 24 and ends on July 31, and will be conducted only via the myCatholicSG platform.

 

Users must log in to their myCatholicSG accounts to register for the ballot. Results will be made known in August only through the myCatholicSG account used for balloting.

 

The archdiocese added that the public can visit www.popefrancis2024.sg/ballot for official information on the papal mass ticket ballot.

 

They can also e-mail papalvisit2024@catholic.org.sg>span> to check if any information concerning the papal mass is true.

 

This is the second scam targeting the pontiff’s visit.

 

On April 15, the archdiocese said it had received reports of misrepresentation, with people claiming to be associated with the ticketing process for the papal mass.

 

These people attempted to acquire the personal information of others, and the archdiocese urged the public to remain vigilant and not fall prey to these scams.

 

This Singapore visit is part of the Pope’s 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region.

 

Pope Francis will first stop at Jakarta in Indonesia from Sept 3 to 6 before heading to Port Moresby and Vanimo in Papua New Guinea from Sept 6 to 9. He then flies to Dili in Timor-Leste on Sept 9 and will remain there till Sept 11.

 

The last papal visit to Singapore took place almost four decades ago, when the late Pope John Paul II drew thousands of Roman Catholics to the National Stadium when he made a five-hour stopover in 1986.

 

There are about 243,000 Roman Catholics in Singapore, according to the 2020 census.