Singapore: Singaporean authorities recorded a significant increase in scam cases in 2023, with the police receiving 46,563 reported incidents, marking a rise of approximately 46.8 percent from the previous year, according to statistics released on Sunday.
Despite efforts to combat scams, victims incurred losses totaling 651.8 million Singapore dollars (equivalent to 484 million U.S. dollars) last year, showing a slight decrease from the 660.7 million Singapore dollars reported in 2022, as per news agency.
Analysis of the data revealed that the top five types of scams reported were job scams, e-commerce scams, fake friend call scams, phishing scams, and investment scams.
In response to the escalating issue, Singaporean authorities conducted 24 state-wide enforcement operations against scams in 2023. These efforts led to the investigation of over 9,600 individuals suspected of involvement in facilitating scams or acting as money mules, according to the data.