Consumer Social Intelligence Report 2023
Key Marketing Opportunities
Singapore | 01 Aug 2023 - 30 Sept 2023
1. Educate tech-literate consumers about the security risks associated with app permissions.
A three-page thread on the hardwarezone.com.sg forum discussed the updates a bank was making to its app. Any other apps that are allowed to share/record the phone’s screen must have the relevant setting disabled before the banking app can be reused, and any other apps that are unauthorised or risky also prevent the bank’s app from working. Later in the thread, similar updates from another bank were discussed. On a separate thread, forum users even recommended having a different phone for banking activities.
To further support these efforts, banks could launch an awareness campaign via social media and email marketing about the risks associated with providing improper app permissions. The campaign should advise users to exercise caution when downloading apps from app stores to ensure they are from a reputable source.
Key Message
Understand how providing improper app permissions can compromise your phone’s security and how to avoid these traps.
Audience
The content should be understandable to as many customers as possible, but tech-literate consumers will best receive it.
Banks and financial institutions can teach people to spot apps that can siphon data from their phones and, in doing so, reduce the volume of these types of fraud by teaching them to identify legitimate applications and provide only permissions that are necessary for those apps to function.
2. Help customers to understand phishing and malware app scams and how to avoid them
Malware scams were widely discussed in August and September. Scams persuading users to download fraudulent apps were prevalent, with people discussing and sharing a variety of tactics ranging from imitating a local restaurant and asking the user to download an online ordering app to news reports about malware scams on Android phones. Users also discussed phishing scams related to the CPF, wherein fraudster created websites or communications pretending to be from the official CPF channels.
Banks could initiate an awareness drive through social media and email marketing, aiming to raise awareness about the dangers linked to pertinent frauds. This includes opening links from unknown contacts and downloading questionable apps. The campaign should stress the importance of being cautious when downloading apps from app stores, ensuring that the apps are from reputable sources. Users should also be educated to be alert and steer clear of suspicious messages with links, especially if they seem to be from the CPF.
Key Message
Understand how opening links from unknown sources and downloading questionable apps can compromise your security, and how to avoid falling into these traps.
Banks and financial institutions can teach people to spot potentially malicious links and apps and consequently reduce the volume of these types of frauds.
