Surge in online scams swells Singapore crimes

The total number of reported crimes in Singapore increased by 11.6 percent to 18,121 cases in the first half, compared with 16,240 cases  in the same period in 2019, Channel News Asia reports.

In a news release, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said the increase was mainly due to the rise in scams. Online scams increased significantly as Singaporeans stayed home and carried out more online transactions during the coronavirus pandemic. 

On the other hand, physical crime dropped by nearly 2,000 cases across three broad crime classes - crimes against persons such as serious hurt, outrage of modesty and rioting, housebreaking and related crimes, as well as theft. 

"If scam cases were excluded, the total number of reported crimes for the first half of 2020 would have decreased by 20.5 per cent to 10,151, from 12,770 in the same period in 2019," the police said.

The police said that the total amount of money cheated for the top 10 scam types doubled to S$82 million in the first half of 2020, compared to S$41.6 million in the same period last year.

E-commerce scams, social media impersonation scams, loan scams and banking-related phishing scams are "of particular concern", said the authorities, with these types of scams making up 71 per cent of the top 10. 

The total number of reported cases for these four types rose sharply by 163 percent, the police, said.

E-commerce scams remain the top scam type - these cases increased by 73.8 per cent to 2,089 in the first half of 2020, from 1,202 in the same period in 2019. 

The total amount cheated increased to S$5.4 million, up from S$1 million, with the largest sum cheated in a single case on an online marketplace reported to be S$175,000. 

A total of 294 cases reported between January and June this year involved virus related items such as face masks, hand sanitizers and thermometers, said police. 

The number of cyber extortion cases more than tripled to 81 in the first half of 2020. In 2019, there were 25. 

The total amount of money lost by victims to cyber extortion cases was more than S$190,000, police said, adding that a single case saw a loss of about S$26,000. 

The most common social media platforms where these incidents took place were Facebook, Tinder and MiChat.