Scam victims in Singapore lost slightly less money in the first half of 2023 as compared to the same period last year, even as the number of scam cases increased by 64.5 percent, according to data released by the police on Wednesday (Sep 13).
From January to June this year, the total amount that victims reported to have been cheated – S$334.5 million (US$245.7 million) – dropped by 2.2 percent from S$342.1 million in the same period in 2022.
In line with that, more than half of the cases – 55 percent – resulted in losses less than or equal to S$2,000.
The overall number of scam cases increased from 13,576 in the first half of last year to 22,339 in the first half of this year.
Young adults aged 20 to 39 were the most likely to be cheated in scams, making up more than half of the total number of victims. They mostly fell prey to e-commerce scams, job scams, and phishing scams.
The top five methods used by scammers to approach victims were through messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram, social media, phone calls, online shopping platforms, and SMSes.In releasing its latest mid-year statistics for scam and cybercrime cases, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it has been working closely with government agencies and private sector stakeholders to “strengthen scam intervention measures to minimise victims’ losses”.
The total number of scam and cybercrime cases rose by almost 70 percent to 24,525 cases in the first half of 2023, from 14,481 cases in the same period in 2022.
The police also highlighted malware-enabled scams involving Android device users that have become more prevalent in recent months.
More than 750 such cases were reported in the first half of 2023, with total losses amounting to at least S$10 million. Eleven of these cases involved unauthorised withdrawals of Central Provident Fund savings, with a net loss of about S$130,000.
