The Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs released statement on the level of online scams perpetrated on social media platforms with E-commerce scams being one of the top scam types in Singapore.
In 2023, it said there were 9,783 reported e-commerce scam cases, a doubling from 4,762 cases in 2022. These scams generally involve the sale of goods and services online, which are not delivered after payment has been made. Close to 50% of e-commerce scams reported in 2023 were perpetrated on Facebook, where the number of cases surged to 4,550 from 1,138 in 2022.
Facebook Marketplace was rated the lowest of six e-commerce platforms for its anti-scam measures to ensure the security of online transactions, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a press release on Wednesday (Apr 10).
The platform, which accounted for close to half of e-commerce scams in 2023, was awarded one tick for 2024, similar to the previous two years.
Meanwhile, Carousell was awarded two ticks while Amazon, Lazada, Qoo10 and Shopee received the highest rating of four ticks.
The findings were published in the 2024 e-commerce marketplace Transaction Safety Ratings (TSR) by the Inter-Ministry Committee on Scams (IMCS), said MHA.
The ratings assigned to major e-commerce marketplaces are updated annually, it added.
First launched in May 2022, the TSR serves to provide consumers with information on the anti-scam measures implemented by major e-commerce platforms.
The four categories are user authenticity, transaction safety, availability of loss remediation channels for consumers, as well as the effectiveness of their anti-scam measures.
“E-commerce platforms with all the critical anti-scam measures in place and consequently experience a low number of scams on their platforms will be awarded the full four ticks,” read the press release.
“Consumers should exercise greater caution when transacting on marketplaces without the recommended measures in place.”
