Nothing tells a story better than data, and to put it in perspective, consider this: Singaporeans have lost close to SGD 1 billion to scamsters since 2016. Within the previous year itself (2021), approximately SGD 633.3 million was lost to scams, a sharp 2.5 times greater the amount than during pandemic year 2020. While this increase is concerning, the unprecedented surge in the kind of scams that were earlier relatively muted is even more worrisome. Job scams, for example, which did not even feature among the top 10 scams in 2020 (a mere 132 cases), were the most common ones in 2021, with 4,554 cases.
Citizens have made it clear that much more needs to be done by the public and private sectors. For instance, a Blackbox survey found that only 42% of respondents are satisfied with the government’s responses to the much-talked-about SkillsFuture scam—the largest ever fraud against a public institution witnessed by the country. For context, this scheme was created with the intent of promoting lifelong learning among Singaporeans, but fraudsters successfully capitalised on it to make bogus claims amounting to SGD 40 million.
Looking beyond the pandemic for reasons
At a time when all the blame gets pinned to the pandemic, and often rightfully so, the truth is that Singapore isn’t new to such scams although it is certainly witnessing an unwelcome upwards trajectory in this regard since 2020. Online scams have seen a significant increase since the onset of COVID-19, as Singaporeans carry out more online transactions. Since 2021, it has reached a point where 1 out of 2 crimes (compared to 40% in 2020) reported in the country is a scam.
COVID-19, while a factor, isn’t the only one with authorities citing the “constantly evolving” tactics of scammers as a key reason for the increase. In other words, innovation.
So, while all the public can do is be more vigilant, businesses also need to innovate to safeguard themselves from such con artists. For them, it’s not only about a monetary loss but also of reputation and trust. This is aptly articulated by Professor Lawrence Loh, Director of the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore Business School, who while acknowledging the credibility issue advised, “Ultimately, the bottom lines of the businesses will be jeopardised when revenues are lost. It is critical for businesses to play a front-line role in preventing fraud because they form a crucial line of defence for consumers, who often bear the burden in scams.”
The way ahead
Businesses are fighting back and payment provider Xfers is a good example. In 2021, it set up a dedicated team to address the spate in scams across Singapore and Indonesia—the two markets where it operates. The scam essentially revolved around the firm’s e-wallet services being used by fraudsters to launder money from their victims. The company, in, fact, spent a spent an undisclosed, six-figure sum last year on manpower and technology to fight cybercrime and fraud. A chunk of that money went in enhancing the app’s security features—such as additional, more stringent verification steps—among other upgrades.
Businesses across the country are similarly investing to ensure that they continue to remain agile and are better poised to address such issues not when they occur but rather prevent them from occurring in the first place. Meta (previously Facebook) also worked with the Media Literacy Council and the National Crime Prevention Council to launch a public education campaign on ‘how to shop safely online.’ The reach of this campaign as per company sources was 2.2 million Facebook and Instagram users in Singapore.
The Singapore Government on its part is also leveraging technology to prevent scams. The ScamShield app (to block and report scammers) designed by the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) and the Government Technology Agency is a step in that direction. A ‘WhatsApp scam channel’ is also in the works, which enables citizens to report scam websites and messages. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being better utilised to swiftly detect and block scam websites through telecommunications networks. Image and text analytic tools can help detect the typical characteristics of scam websites, such as domain names that resemble others, and websites in which the content reads exactly like those of genuine, older ones.
It is undoubtedly a long battle ahead but not an impossible one with education being key for prevention when it comes to consumers and investment in advanced technology for businesses and governments.
This is the first part in our series of ‘Rising Incidences of Scams in Singapore’ and what are its implications for businesses, with subsequent parts focussing on the rise in e-commerce as well as banking and finance-related scams and what can be done to help companies safeguard their interests along with those of their customers.
Author: Blackbox Research Team
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