ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Despite numerous media reports and warnings by the authorities about scams, the number of scam cases here hit a record high in 2023, with 46,563 cases reported.
The police told The Straits Times yesterday that this is the highest number of scam cases since they started tracking scam figures in 2016. The 2023 figure is a 46.8 per cent jump from the 31,728 scam cases in 2022.
In total, scam victims in Singapore lost SGD651.8 million in 2023, a slight dip from the SGD660.7 million lost to scammers in 2022.
But the amount lost to the top 10 scams rose in 2023 to SGD573.9 million, from SGD509.2 million in 2022. The annual scam figures released by the police on Feb 18 mean that more than SGD2.3 billion has been lost here to scams since 2019.
Malware scams, which were practically unheard of previously, were among the top 10 scams of concern in 2023. A total of 1,899 cases of such scams were reported, with victims losing SGD34.1 million.
The most common ruse that victims fell prey to was job scams, with 9,914 cases reported and victims losing at least SGD135.7 million. This was more than the SGD117.4 million lost to job scams in 2022.
Those aged between 30 and 49 made up more than 45 per cent of job scam victims, and scammers would often contact them via WhatsApp and Telegram. The police said job scams typically involve victims being offered online jobs to be performed from home.
Their tasks would include liking social media posts, reviewing hotels and restaurants and completing surveys.
To receive their commissions, victims would be asked to first transfer money to bank accounts provided by the scammers.
The victims would realise they had been scammed when they did not receive commissions or when the scammers became uncontactable.
The second scam of concern was e-commerce scams. The numbers more than doubled in 2023, with 9,783 cases, up from around 4,700 in 2022.
Victims lost at least SGD13.9 million in 2023, down from SGD21.3 million lost in 2022. A type of e-commerce scam involves concert tickets, and this saw a resurgence in 2023 when more singers and acts, like Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and Coldplay, announced concert dates in Singapore.
A new variant of e-commerce scams that emerged in 2023 involved items such as durians and wagyu beef being sold online at heavily discounted prices.
Victims would lose money when scammers ask for goodwill deposits, reservation fees or delivery payments.
Almost half of e-commerce scam victims were aged 30 to 49, and the two most common platforms used by such scammers were Facebook and Carousell.
Fake friend call scams were also of concern in 2023, with 6,859 cases reported. This was up from the 2,106 cases in 2022. In 2020, there were no reported cases.
More than SGD23 million was lost to this scam type in 2023, and most of the victims were aged 50 to 64. Phone calls and WhatsApp were the most common channels used by such scammers to deceive victims.
While older adults and the elderly were more likely to fall for fake friend call scams, the overall scam statistics debunked the myth that the elderly in general were the most likely to be scammed. The police said 73 per cent of scam victims were those below 50.
Young adults aged between 20 and 29 mostly fell prey to job scams, while those aged 30 to 49 mostly lost money to e-commerce scams.
