The amount lost to Internet love scams increased from $24 million to $37 million in 2017. Getty Images file photo
Even as Singapore’s overall crime rate fell by 1 per cent last year, love cheats on the internet duped over 800 victims into parting with $37 million, an increase of more than half of the amount reported in 2016.
Also of concern last year was a 60.5 per cent rise to 207 cases of outrage of modesty (OM) on public transportation, and a 33.8 per cent increase to 107 OM cases at entertainment night spots, said the police at an annual crime briefing on Saturday morning (3 February).
Overall, OM cases increased by 22.2 per cent to 1,566 cases in 2017.
To counter these cases, the police will be stepping up patrols by Transcom officers at public transportation nodes, distributing outrage of modesty advisories during peak travel hours as well as installing surveillance cameras at public entertainment outlets as a form of deterrence.
Following a 10-year low in 2016, unlicensed moneylending-related (UML) harassment cases also registered an increase of 12.3 per cent to 3,806 cases in 2017, up from 3,388 in 2016.
Significantly, there was an increase of 33.8 per cent in harassment cases via electronic means, amounting to 2,783 cases in 2017. Conversely, there was a drop of 21.8 per cent in harassment cases involving damage to property, amounting to 1,023 cases in 2017.
Police said “relentless enforcement efforts” to disrupt the operations of illegal moneylending syndicates, “strong partnerships” with the community, and the introduction of more police cameras in the neighbourhoods have “forced the UML harassers to shift to non-damage and non-confrontational tactics”.
“The proliferation of the new communication platforms and high usage of mobile devices have made it easier for UML harassers to conduct their harassment via electronic means (via SMS and social media platforms) as well as target larger groups of people simultaneously,” said the police.
For instance, victims will receive threatening messages as well as photos and videos of paint on doors or vehicles.
Such moneylenders have also turned to dating or social networking sites such as OkCupid and Locanto to “recruit runners” to harass their debtors. In these cases, they would pose as females on such sites to look for male partners.
“The police will continue to work closely with relevant stakeholders such as the Infocomm Media Development Authority to make it harder for UML harassers to employ such tactics,” it added.
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S$99 million lost to scams in 2017: Police
But Ms Tan (not her real name) was then asked to pay S$3,000 to cover a “Singapore tax charge” for the delivery of these gifts.
The 40-year-old agreed, but then came further requests for an additional S$12,500 to be paid.
That was when she knew that she had become a victim of an Internet love scam.
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Online romance scams
The 45-year-old victim, Grace (not her real name), was duped into believing she was helping to free a "close friend" who had been detained in Malaysia on suspicion of money laundering.
Her case is among 349 love scams reported to the police in the first half of this year.
The Singapore permanent resident, who had been doing business here for over a decade, met a Canadian man named Lee, 52, through a friend here last September. They went out several times and kept in touch via Facebook.
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Web Love Scams
Singapore saw a sharp rise in online crime cases last year, with men making up the biggest group of victims: More than a thousand were tempted into handing over money for sexual services that never materialized.
There were slightly over 1,200 such cases, up from just 66 in 2014, according to annual police crime statistics released yesterday.
Victims, aged from 14 to 69, were cheated out of almost $3 million in total, by women purporting to offer sex in exchange for online credits or gift cards
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Internet Love Scams
Soaring numbers of Singaporean women fall prey to web love scams
Soaring numbers of Singaporeans - mostly women - are falling victim to "Internet love scams" police said in a Valentine's Day warning that criminals are exploiting lonely hearts increasingly turning to the web to find partners.
The number of people robbed by online con artists faking romantic interest before tricking people out of money jumped 62 per cent between 2012 and 2013, police said in an annual crime briefing. Official figures also show e-commerce rackets doubled to 509 in 2013. The total amount reported lost to such forms of fraud in 2013 was $6.01 million, police said, a steep rise from $1.20 million in 2012.
Police said the victims of the online love scams were mainly women searching for partners in social networks and on dating websites.
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Protect yourself from frauds & scams
Five tips to protect yourself from ATM fraud
Card skimming scammers are becoming increasingly clever. Here s how to protect yourself from ATM fraud:
- Protect your PIN
- Pick your ATMs carefully
- Get cashback from shops instead
- Keep track of your accounts
- Be suspicious
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