$660.7m lost to scams in 2022, 6 in 10 victims were young adults

Scam victims in Singapore lost a total of $660.7 million in 2022, up from $632 million in 2021.

The figures released by the police on Wednesday means that almost $1.3 billion was lost to scams in the past two years.

And contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t mostly the elderly who had fallen prey to scams.

More than 53 per cent of total scam victims were between 20 and 39 years old.

There were 31,728 scam cases reported in 2022, up from 23,933 cases in 2021, an increase of 32.6 per cent.

Phishing scams were the most common ruse in 2022, with 7,097 cases reported that year, a 41.3 per cent spike from the 5,023 cases in 2021.

However, the total amount cheated from phishing scam victims decreased by 52.6 per cent, from $34.8 million in 2021 to $16.5 million in 2022.

The police said scammers in these cases would impersonate officials or trusted entities to trick victims into revealing their credit card details and bank account information.

The other scam types with the most number of reports in 2022 included job scams, e-commerce scams, investment scams and fake friend call scams.

This was the first time the police were releasing the statistics for a particular crime separate from the annual crime numbers, which will be released on Feb 16.

Assistant director of the police’s public communications division Brenda Ong said: “In recent years, scams have risen in numbers and have overtaken many other physical crime types to form a significant proportion of overall crime.”

She noted that a dedicated brief on scams allowed the Government to provide more information on the situation, including the latest scam trends and vulnerable groups.

The scam statistics also debunked the myth that the elderly were the mostly likely to be scammed.

Those aged 20 to 29 years old made up 26.7 per cent of scam victims.

And another 26.8 per cent were those aged between 30 and 39 years old.

In fact, those aged 60 and above made up only 8.8 per cent of the total number of scam victims, with most of them falling for phishing scams.

The police said scammers often contact young people on social media, messaging platforms and online shopping platforms.

A total of 27.2 per cent of those aged 20 to 29 fell prey to job scams, which typically involve victims being offered online jobs such as liking social media posts or reviewing hotels and restaurants.

Victims would initially receive some commission, luring them into providing more funds in the hope of getting a bigger commission. Eventually, the victims would not get their money back.

Young adults aged between 30 and 39 years old also lost money to e-commerce scams -- with 18.3 per cent falling prey to this scam type.

E-commerce scams generally involve crooks posting products for sale on shopping platforms. Victims pay for products that don’t get delivered.

There were 4,762 e-commerce scam cases in 2022, and victims were cheated of $21.3 million - a 261 per cent spike from the $5.9 million lost in 2021.

In 2022, victims of investment scams lost $198.3 million - the highest amount lost of all scam types. This was more than the $190.2 million lost to scammers in 2021.

Victims would come across seemingly good investment offers online and, in some cases, initially earn a profit, leading them to believe the investment is legitimate. Once larger amounts of money are transferred to the scammers, they become uncontactable.

The police said most online scams are perpetrated by scammers based outside Singapore.

“These scammers are typically part of organised criminal groups and run sophisticated transnational operations which are not easy to uncover or dismantle,” said the police, adding that such cases are difficult to investigate and prosecute.

The police noted that cooperation from overseas law enforcement agencies, and their ability to track down the scammers in their jurisdiction, are required in solving such cases.

In 2022, 13 scam syndicates were busted. These included six job scam syndicates, three government officials impersonation scam syndicates, two phishing scam syndicates and two Internet love scam syndicates.

This was after collaboration between the Singapore Police Force and overseas law enforcement agencies. More than 70 individuals responsible for more than 280 scam cases were arrested.

To address the scam scourge here, an anti-scam campaign was launched by the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) on Jan 18, urging the public to “ACT” against scams.

The ACT abbreviation in the campaign tag line outlines how members of the public can Add security features, Check for signs, and Tell the authorities and others about scams.

Mr Tan Puay Kern, NCPC’s vice chairman, said: “We are losing millions of dollars to scams every month. Any one of us can be a scam victim. But if we stand together, we can fight scams effectively. Do not hesitate, ACT now.”

He advised the public to learn the latest scam trends and share them with friends and family. And to look out for scam signs before responding, then report to the police immediately if they’ve been scammed.

He added: “Do not let the scammers win.”