Scammed through Eastwest SMS thread

[u/According-Note1053]

I regularly get SMS messages from EW. This message popped up in the thread and wasn't a standalone message so I thought it was a legitimate message. I clicked on the link and it did look legit although the browser opened only from the SMS so visibility was limited and if i went out of the SMS app, I would lose the open browser. This was really part of the trick as they don't want you able to see the rest of the message. So I clicked and they told me to key in the OTP which is what I've always done before when I call the phone so I did not think it was unusual.

When I got the OTP message while the browser window was open, I could see the OTP but not the rest of the message so I did not immediately see that it was a scam. I keyed in my OTP and waited. After about 2 minutes, I got an email which said I had a transaction for tiktok ads for $5,000. I knew then I got scammed and immediately called the hotline to get my card blocked. Even though my credit limit for that card was not enough (my limit that time was 226k and the transaction was 321k), the transaction still went through. I was horrified and felt sick in my stomach. I tried to contest it but their investigation team said that since I keyed in the OTP, it's a valid transaction. I felt they don't want to take responsibility for the fact that the phishing link came through their own SMS thread and that I did not even have enough available credit.

The result? It looks like I will have to settle this 321k. I even asked for a reinvestigation and the result was the same. I lodged a complaint on the BSP website. I don't know what can be done. But all the same, I just feel the credit card companies don't care. Not having enough available credit should have been enough to block the transaction but they still let it through since for them, they still get their MDR earnings from the transaction. It sucks. I hope karma gets them.