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SINGAPORE – The number of cases of people scammed by impersonators on social media has jumped by more than nine times in the past three years, with many victims – six in 10 – aged in their 20s to 40s.
The number of cases rose from 71 in 2017 to 672 cases in the first 11 months of 2019.
Furthermore, the amount cheated ballooned by nearly 43 times, from at least $168,000 to about $7.2 million over the same period.
The scammers in these cases often use compromised or spoofed social media accounts to pretend to be a victim’s family member or friend to trick victims.
The trend of young people being scammed by impersonators also bears out in findings for other scams which Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam revealed in a written parliamentary reply on Monday (Jan 6).
China officials impersonation scam cases have more than doubled, from 188 cases in 2017 to 401 cases between January and November last year.
The amount cheated also rose sharply, from at least $12.8 million to at least $18.8 million over the same period.
More younger victims were targeted in 2019 too, with more than half below the age of 30.
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