You’re rushing through your daily routine. Suddenly, your day takes a consequential turn: A “friend” calls asking for money; a social media ad tempts you with cheap seafood; a job listing offers extra income.
You respond and, before you know it, you’ve become one of the 22,339 individuals in Singapore who got scammed in the first half of 2023.
Despite a growing awareness of scams, many are still falling prey to scammers. And the situation is getting worse.
Singapore Police Force (SPF) figures reveal that from January to June 2023, the number of scam cases grew by 64.5 per cent compared with the same period in 2022.
“We don’t go about our day-to-day lives expecting to be scammed. In particular, digital natives are comfortable online and may have an ‘it won’t happen to me’ mindset, which puts them at risk,” says Mr Jeffery Chin, deputy director of the Scam Public Education Office Operations Department, SPF.
Scammers seize on this sense of security. “(They) employ effective persuasion tactics, such as creating urgency by giving us limited time to think. This often results in emotional and poor decision-making.”
“During moments when we are tired, stressed or busy, we may not be alert enough – and that is when we are most vulnerable,” says Mr Chin. “SPF recommends adopting preventive measures such as downloading the ScamShield app on your mobile devices and checking with official sources if you are unsure, which will provide an additional layer of defence against scams.”
Malware on the rise
The most disturbing trend in recent months is the surge in malware-enabled scams.
There were about 1,400 victims of such scams between January and August 2023, with at least $20.6 million in reported loss.
These malware-enabled scams typically involve tricking victims into downloading and installing malicious Android apps.
“Scammers would contact victims via messaging platforms, directing them to install these apps to make payments for services or products,” Mr Chin explains. “Once the malware-enabled app is downloaded, the fraudsters can gain remote access to victims’ devices to obtain their Internet banking credentials or card details.”
To protect against malware and malicious links, SPF advises the public to download and install antivirus apps from official app stores. The recommended list of antivirus apps can be found at go.gov.sg/antivirusapps.
Singapore is a prime target.
Scam victims in Singapore lost the most on average, at US$4,031 (S$5,506) a victim, revealed the Global State of Scams 2023 Report. Switzerland ranks second at US$3,767 a victim, followed by Austria at US$3,484.
What makes Singapore residents so “attractive” to fraudsters?
“Singapore is relatively affluent,” says Mr Chin, “which means the scammers get a higher return on their efforts. Our high internet penetration rate also makes it easy for scam syndicates operating overseas to cast a wide net to find victims.”
In partnership with the Singapore Police Force
