Elderly more prone to scams as they are generally more trusting, experts say

Madam Pearl Ting was about to hand over her credit card details to scammers. But her husband’s financial loss made her hesitate. 

The 72-year-old retiree had received an SMS in early 2022, purportedly from SingPost, she recalls. It claimed that her parcel was stuck in transit. All she had to do was pay $12 to release it.

“I wasn’t expecting any package, but I thought: maybe I forgot?” says Madam Ting, who shops online for items like food and clothing once a week.

She clicked on a link in the message, and landed on a website with the “SingPost” logo. Just before submitting the payment, she remembered how her husband had lost a four-figure sum to a scammer impersonating a business partner just weeks earlier.

Concerned, Madam Ting decided to show the SMS to her daughter-in-law, who lives with her. 

The younger woman, 31, recognised it as a scam and helped Madam Ting call the bank to block her card, in case its details had been compromised.

Madam Ting was spared. Many other seniors were not.

Singapore Police Force (SPF) figures show that in 2025, those aged 65 and above suffered the highest average losses across all age groups in Singapore – at $37,053 a victim – despite accounting for 14.8 per cent of scam victims. 

Experts say seniors are especially vulnerable to scams that exploit trust, fear and create a sense of urgency.

Trust becomes a trap

Seniors are particularly attractive targets for scammers, says Professor Reuben Ng, a data and behavioural scientist from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk. 

One reason, he says, is that some seniors tend to be comparatively wealthier than the young, having accumulated savings over decades of work.

Singapore’s pioneer generation also grew up in close-knit kampungs and witnessed how good governance transformed their lives, says Prof Ng. “(They) come from a time where people trusted (in institutions and authority figures) more.”

Prof Ng was the runner-up for the 2025 Scam Fighter of the Year Award, presented by Netherlands-based non-profit Global Anti-Scam Alliance. 

He was recognised for co-leading the development of the Anti-Scam Handbook, published in 2024 by the US-headquartered United Nations Development Programme.

“Singapore is (also) relatively safe,” says Prof Ng. “There is some transference of this sense of physical safety (that seniors hold) to the online space, where they ought to be more sceptical.” 

This, he adds, makes them more vulnerable to scams that exploit trust and invoke authority, such as government official impersonation scams (GOIS).

According to SPF data, GOIS is the second most common type of scams that the elderly fall for, behind investment scams. 

In GOIS, scammers pretend to be police or officers from other government agencies, and ask victims to hand over money or valuables using threats of detention or under the guise of “investigations” for criminal activities like money laundering.

It takes a village

Even when seniors sense that something is wrong, getting out of the situation can be challenging.

Scammers use tactics such as creating a sense of urgency, pressurising seniors to act immediately, says Associate Professor Jiow Hee Jhee, deputy director at SIT Teaching and Learning Academy and a member of the Media Literacy Council. 

This leaves them no time to consult family members or friends, who could help spot red flags, he explains.

In scams like GOIS, scammers use fear to cloud the judgment of victims. And when panic sets in, Prof Jiow says, victims are less likely to verify the scammers’ identities and claims. 

Prof Ng adds that some seniors may also hesitate to reach out to family members or friends for help – even when they suspect they have been scammed.

Victims often grapple with feelings of embarrassment and a “loss of dignity”, he says.

“That’s where the (24/7) ScamShield helpline becomes important,” he says, explaining that the helpline offers confidentiality, which makes it easier for seniors to ask questions or seek reassurance without feeling exposed or ashamed. 

“There’s no loss of ‘face’ in calling,” Prof Ng says.

Both experts stress that scam prevention cannot rest solely on individuals.

“The individual may be the (weak link) for the scam to happen, but it’s the family, the community and our systems that battle it,” says Prof Ng.

Prof Jiow stresses the importance of community in protecting seniors. “When elderly have a support network that they are comfortable reaching out to,” he says, they are more resilient to scams.

Since the scam attempt, Madam Ting has become more cautious online. With help from her daughter-in-law, she installed and set up the ScamShield app on her phone to block scam calls and SMSes.

Her advice for fellow seniors: Treat unsolicited messages with scepticism, no matter how convincing they may seem.

“Before clicking on any (links), check properly first (and) don’t just believe it straight away,” says Madam Ting. “(When unsure), check with family members or ask your children to help you see.”

This is part of a series titled “Act against scams”, in partnership with the Singapore Police Force and the National Crime Prevention Council.