Singapore Reports 40% Decline in Victim Scam Losses Amid Evolving Threats

SAN MATEO, CA./LISBON, Portugal (February, 25, 2025) — Feedzai, the global leader in AI-native financial crime prevention, in collaboration with the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), today released the 2024 State of Scams in Singapore report, This comprehensive study reveals that while scam attempts have surged—driven by increasingly sophisticated, AI-enabled tactics—the average financial losses per victim have fallen by 40%, underscoring the power of advanced fraud detection and enhanced public awareness.

Rising Scam Attempts in a Digital Nation

Singapore’s tech-forward society remains a prime target for fraudsters. The report finds that 65% of Singaporeans encounter scam attempts at least once a month, with 54% reporting a rise in scam encounters over the past year. Fraudsters’ adoption of AI-driven methods demands equally innovative countermeasures.

“The drop in average amount stolen from Singaporeans in scams is encouraging, however, we are seeing that many scams and scam attempts simply go unreported,” said Sam Rogers, Director of Research and Marketing at GASA. “We urge the citizens of Singapore to take these findings to heart and consider it a duty to report scams and contribute to a safer digital ecosystem. If you don’t report to the authorities, the perpetrator is free to make another attempt and scam someone else. That someone else could be your family or your friend.”

Encouraging Signs: Financial Losses on the Decline

Despite increased scam attempts, improved law enforcement and breakthrough prevention technologies have reduced average victim financial losses to US$2,428 in 2024. This decline highlights the positive impact of coordinated initiatives and serves as proof that smarter fraud detection is making a real difference.

Key Trends Shaping the Scam Landscape

The report identifies several critical trends:

• Identity Theft Dominance: Identity theft tops the list of scam types, followed closely by investment and online shopping scams.
• Platform Exploitation: Messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Gmail, and Telegram are increasingly targeted, with SMS and text-based scams rising by 3% since 2023.
• Underreporting Concerns: 68% of scam incidents are not reported to law enforcement
• Rapid Execution: Approximately 44% of scams are completed within 24 hours of initial contact, emphasizing the need for rapid detection and response.

Strengthening Public Awareness and Government Response

Encouragingly, Singaporeans are becoming more aware of emerging scam threats, especially those leveraging AI. Although familiarity is high for AI-generated texts, chats, and images, awareness of AI-generated audio and video remains lower—a gap that further public education must bridge.

Government initiatives such as aggressive public awareness campaigns, a centralized Anti-Scam Command, and enhanced regulations have significantly bolstered scam prevention efforts. Only 3% of citizens rated these initiatives poorly, reflecting strong public confidence in the national strategy.

Public-Private Partnerships: A Regional Model for Success

Singapore’s coordinated approach is a benchmark in public-private collaboration. Financial institutions, telecommunications companies, and government agencies have united to deploy co-located scam response units and real-time fraud detection tools.

“We are pleased to support this report as part of GASA’s global research program that reveals historical trends of the impact on consumers,” said Colin Lee, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific of Feedzai. “The 40% decline in average loss is encouraging and reflects the significant counter-fraud measures introduced recently such as the Shared Responsibility Framework, continued public awareness programs, and enhanced Scamshield app. However, there is no time for complacency. For example, in the first six weeks of 2025 losses amounting to nearly 32.6m SGD (nearly $24m USD) have been reported for investment scams alone.”

A Call to Action: Sustaining Momentum

While progress is evident, 55% of Singaporeans report declining trust in the internet due to scam activity. GASA and Feedzai call on all stakeholders to maintain momentum, invest in continuous fraud prevention and cybersecurity enhancements, and ensure ongoing public education.

For full insights and to download the 2024 State of Scams in Singapore report, please visit: The State of Scams 
in Singapore 2024