"Singapore saw a sharp rise in scam-related losses in 2024, reaching at least $1.1 billion—an alarming 70.6 per cent increase from the previous year.
“Singapore saw a sharp rise in scam-related losses in 2024, reaching at least $1.1 billion—an alarming 70.6 per cent increase from the previous year. The number of reported scams also climbed by 10.6 per cent, totalling 51,501 cases, according to the police’s annual Scams and Cybercrimes report.
E-commerce scams were the most common type, accounting for 22.7 per cent of all cases. These scams resulted in at least $17.5 million in losses, with fraudulent concert ticket sales, including those for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, being a major contributor. More than 2,000 victims were collectively scammed out of $1 million over just five months.
Most cases involved losses below $5,000, with the median loss per scam dropping from $1,590 in 2023 to $1,389 in 2024. However, scams causing individual losses of at least $100,000 made up 3.3 per cent of total cases, with four particularly high-value incidents totalling $237.9 million.
Deputy Director of the Scam Public Education Office, Jeffrey Chin, highlighted that scams remain a significant concern due to the increasing number of cases and financial impact. “”Scammers constantly devise new tactics to pressure victims into making hasty decisions. We urge everyone to pause and verify before taking any action,”” he advised, encouraging the public to report suspicious activities via the ScamShield helpline at 1799.
Cryptocurrency-related scams saw a particularly steep rise, accounting for 24.3 per cent of total scam losses—up significantly from 6.8 per cent in 2023. Self-initiated transfers, where victims were deceived into transferring money rather than having their accounts hacked, made up 82.4 per cent of reported cases.
Investment, job, and government official impersonation scams caused the highest financial losses in 2024. Investment scams alone accounted for $320.7 million, with scammers increasingly luring victims through messaging platforms, promising lucrative opportunities.
Individuals under 50 made up 70.9 per cent of scam victims, with e-commerce, job, and phishing scams being the most prevalent in this demographic. Scammers frequently contacted victims via social media, messaging apps, and online shopping platforms. Meanwhile, those aged 65 and above comprised 8.4 per cent of victims, mainly falling prey to phishing, investment, and fake friend call scams. The elderly also experienced the highest average financial losses among all age groups.
Scammers relied heavily on platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok, and Instagram to target victims, with a notable 95.7 per cent surge in scams perpetrated through Telegram. Fraud cases on online shopping platforms also increased, rising to 5,079 cases from 4,893 in 2023. Carousell accounted for 75 per cent of these cases, while Facebook Marketplace made up 18.3 per cent.
To combat the rising threat, authorities reinforced anti-scam measures, including the Protection from Scams Act and the Code of Practice for E-commerce Services under the Online Criminal Harms Act. The Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) expanded partnerships to over 120 institutions, including Interpol and foreign law enforcement agencies. These efforts led to the freezing of over 21,000 bank accounts and the recovery of more than $182 million in 2024.
Additionally, Singapore introduced the ScamShield Suite in September 2024, expanding its original app into a comprehensive set of anti-scam tools, including a 24/7 helpline. The helpline now receives approximately 500 daily calls, a significant jump from just 14 per day in 2023. The ScamShield app, which blocks fraudulent calls and detects scam-related messages, has also surpassed 1.18 million downloads.”
COMMENTS