People in Singapore reluctant to help strangers due to fear of being scammed: Survey
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The fear of being scammed was particularly prevalent among respondents aged 65 and above.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE - Even though Mr Paul Teo is a senior social worker, he hesitates to open his wallet when approached in public for donations.
The 51-year-old says he is alert to bogus fund-raisers and scammers who pose as needy individuals.
“I’ve become more discerning nowadays. Even though part of me really wants to do something to help, and wants to part with my money, I’ll look at (the donation website) first,” said Mr Teo, who is with Reach Community Services.
Mr Teo was part of a team from Reach Community Services that conducted a survey in March 2024 of more than 1,000 members of the public aged above 18, to understand their attitudes towards helping strangers. The findings of the Good Samaritan Meter survey were published in late April.
The team found that though 95 per cent of respondents across different age groups perceived themselves as compassionate, only 42 per cent of them said they helped strangers once or twice in the past year. One reason so many did not help others was the fear of being scammed, which was particularly prevalent among respondents aged 65 and above.
Said the social service agency in a statement on April 26: “The fear of being taken advantage of or getting scammed prompts most to demonstrate compassion through less tangible means, such as acts of service and words of affirmation, rather than through costly gifts or quality time.”
The survey also found that those aged between 45 and 54 did not help strangers mainly because they were not aware of who needed assistance, while those aged 18 to 24 said they lacked time.
The findings parallel the National Giving Study 2023 released by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC) on June 12, which found that people in Singapore had given less of their time and money to causes in 2023
A fear of being scammed was cited as a major reason by those who did not donate cash. NVPC said in its report that concerns about fraud appear to be on many people’s minds.
Scam cases hit a record high in 2023.
Mr Teo said that when student volunteers approached people on the street to scan a QR code to complete the Good Samaritan Meter survey, they were turned down repeatedly.
He said: “Even before (the students) could approach them, people would say: ‘No, I don’t want, don’t ask me. Don’t ask me to scan anything or do any survey because I don’t want to be scammed.’”
Ms Joey Su, also a social worker from Reach Community Services who worked on the survey, said such scepticism may be fuelled by people being more aware and alert to scams.
“Does it create extra fear for people who might not have experienced scams, but who become a lot more guarded and wary?” said Ms Su.
Dr Reuben Ng, a behavioural scientist from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk, sees the cautious nature as a good sign of a maturing society.
“The reason why scams happen is that we are undergoing a digital revolution. But humans go through evolution, which is much slower than digital revolution.
“What we are seeing is that human evolution is trying to catch up with digital revolution, and one of the by-products of that is people are becoming more discerning and careful,” said Dr Ng.
To encourage people to continue helping strangers despite their misgivings, Ms Su said they could start with small acts of kindness that do not take too much time, money or effort.
These could include holding the door open for others, offering a smile, or sharing an umbrella with a stranger when it rains.
Dr Grace Chee, senior lecturer of social work at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, who was a research adviser for the Good Samaritan Meter survey, said she rarely sees people holding the door open for others in Singapore.
She said this small act would make a huge difference to someone who is in a wheelchair or on crutches.
Dr Ng said there will always be people in society who are not interested in helping strangers, and those who would proactively help others. There will also be a “middle block” who can be influenced towards more pro-social behaviour.
He said: “The question is, how many people can we influence to help each other become better? Even getting 5 per cent to 10 per cent of people thinking a little differently would make a lot of difference.”
