EMBASSY ADVISORY
AD-008-2023
The Philippine Embassy warns the public of the increasing number of scam and cybercrime cases through various methods such as phishing scams, job scams, e-commerce scams, investment scams, fake friend calls scams, social media impersonation scams, loan scams, internet love scams, government official impersonation scams, and credit-for-sex scams.
According to the Annual Scams and Cybercrime Brief 2022 released by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the number of scam and cybercrime cases in Singapore increased by 25.2% to 33,669 in 2022, compared to 26,886 cases in 2021. Scams accounted for 94.2% of these 33,669 reported cases. The total number of scam cases increased by 32.6% to 31,728 in 2022, from 23,933 cases in 2021.
The total amount reported to have been lost from all scams increased by 4.5% to $660.7 million in 2022, from $632.0 million in 2021. The top five scam types of 2022 are phishing scams, job scams, e-commerce scams, investment scams, and fake friend call scams.
With the proliferation, ease of use and access of e-commerce platforms over the years, it is not surprising that e-commerce scams continue to be among the top five scam types for four years now.
Phishing scams recorded the highest number of reported cases among all scam types in 2022. There were 7,097 phishing scam cases reported in 2022, compared to 5,023 cases in 2021, an increase of 41.3%. Calls (specifically in-app calls e.g.,WhatsApp), SMSes and in-app chat messaging were the most common channels used by scammers to contact victims.
The SPF Annual Scams and Cybercrime Brief 2022 Infographics may be accessed through the following link.
