Singaporeans have the most to lose?

If we look at the amount of fraud, victims in developed countries lose the most.

Among them, Singapore ranks first with an average loss of $4,031 (about RMB 30,900) per victim in fraud; Switzerland and Austria rank second and third, with $3,767 (about RMB 27,000) and $3,484 (about RMB 25,000) respectively.

In this regard, Abraham said that residents of developed countries are more likely to become targets of fraud gangs because of their high incomes.

Why do Singaporeans suffer the most losses? Tesla, an associate professor at the School of Business at Singapore's SUSS, also analyzed that Singaporeans are relatively wealthy per capita and have sufficient disposable savings, making them more likely to be targeted by fraud gangs.

Not only that, developed Internet technology has also become an important factor in Singaporeans being easily deceived. Peng Lishan, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, pointed out that Singapore is one of the countries with the most developed Internet technology in the world, and most of its citizens are proficient in the Internet and social media, so they face a higher risk of online fraud.

Lisa Wong, director of the Policy Development Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs of Singapore, revealed that in 2022 alone, Singapore received 31,728 fraud notifications, an increase of 32.6% year-on-year.

Data from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) showed that victims in Singapore reported a total of US$660.7 million in fraud losses in 2022, up from US$632 million in 2021.

Only about 7% of frauds are reported to law enforcement agencies and the government, so these figures are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg.

And the major social media that people are keen to browse are the hardest hit areas for fraud cases. Lisa Wong pointed out: "WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook and Instagram have become popular platforms for fraud activities, with phishing scams leading the way, followed by job hunting and e-commerce scams."

The Singapore police said that in these cases, scammers would impersonate government officials or people trusted by the victims to trick victims into revealing their credit card details and bank account information.

On December 29 last year, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong posted on his personal social media to remind the public to be careful of the "scam season" because some people used artificial intelligence technology to defraud by tampering with videos of him and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in formal occasions.