Singaporeans lose $295M to scams in H1 as cases rise to new peak

Compared to the same period last year, Singaporeans lost 24.6% more to scams in the first half, The Straits Times reported, citing Singapore police’s mid-year scam and cyber-crime statistics released last Thursday.

Projections suggest the figure could reach S$770 million by the end of the year, exceeding the previous record of S$660.7 million set in 2022.

E-commerce scams, job scams and phishing scams were the most prevalent scams in the first half, according to CNA.

However, in terms of financial loss, investment scams, job scams, and government official impersonation scams topped the chart.

Investment scams, despite representing only 12.5% of all cases, resulted in the largest financial losses, totaling S$133.4 million, with an average of S$40,000 per case.

Job scams, comprising 21% of all cases, led to S$86 million in losses, averaging S$15,055 per case.

Government official impersonation scams, which made up just 2.18% of cases, cost victims S$67.5 million, or S$116,500 per case on average.

To combat online scams, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in June introduced new codes of practice requiring Meta's Facebook and Carousell, a local second-hand marketplace, to verify the identities of sellers flagged as high-risk, Nikkei Asia reported.

The codes are part of the Online Criminal Harms Act passed last year, which also requires social media and messaging platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, WeChat, and WhatsApp, to implement systems to detect scams and malicious activities by the end of 2024 and to submit annual reports to authorities.

According to the police, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp were notably prevalent among the platforms used by scammers in the first half.

The MHA is also exploring options to grant the police enhanced authority to limit scam victims' banking transactions.

One of the measures under consideration is allowing the police to impose temporary restrictions on banking transactions when there is suspicion that victims may be sending money to scammers.

This would allow officers to intervene and persuade victims that they are being defrauded while also investigating the recipients of the funds.

The Central Provident Fund, Singapore’s mandatory social security savings scheme, also announced last Thursday that it will cut the daily withdrawal limit from S$200,000 to S$50,000 as part of its anti-scam strategy, as reported by The Business Times.

"Lowering the maximum daily withdrawal limit provides a greater deterrence to scammers and can help to limit the potential losses in a scam," it said.