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The number of impersonation scams on Facebook in the first nine months of this year, compared with the same period last year, has almost doubled.
The police said this in a statement on Wed (26 Nov), with 45 cases between January and September, compared with 24 cases in the same period last year.
Victims this year have lost at least $1.2 million so far. This is more than the $740,000 victims lost in the first nine months of last year.
The police added that victims tend to be those aged 60 and above.
In many of the cases, the victims were contacted by scammers through compromised Facebook accounts belonging to their family and friends and were introduced to various types of grants.
Victims were asked to provide their personal details and transfer money to bank accounts or remit funds overseas to receive the grant.
The police said seniors might be more vulnerable to such scams.
Trusting
They said: “Likely because (seniors) are not aware that Facebook accounts could be hacked or spoofed, and that they tend to be more trusting.
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