FILE PHOTO: A collection of Bitcoin (virtual currency) tokens are displayed in this picture illustration taken December 8, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Illustration/File Photo

SINGAPORE: "You have (1) BitCoin in your account. Confirm your account here ... Current market value 18505.26 SGD." 

If you received an SMS with the message above, do not click on the link that comes with it as it is likely to be a phishing scam. 

At least two people in Singapore told Channel NewsAsia they received messages on Wednesday (Jan 17) claiming that they had a Bitcoin worth more than S$18,500 in their "account". 

Mr Raymond Lee got the message at 12.22pm. "I ignored it because I know it is a scam," he said. 

(Screengrab: Raymond Lee)

Another Channel NewsAsia reader, Mr Pang Choon Hock, said he also knew it was a scam immediately: "Nobody will give you money for nothing."

A quick check online and on social media shows that people in other parts of the world have been receiving similar messages as far back as October last year, although there appear to have been no reports of the scam reaching Singapore until now. 

On question-and-answer network Stack Exchange, a user reported receiving a similar message on Oct 30 last year. "When I follow the link, there's nothing relevant," said the person who posted the comment.

"Mine lead(s) back to text.id, a domain registered by Christopher Boyd. A security researcher, think someone is trying to frame him," another user posted about a week later.

More at Channel News Asia