More than $450m lost to scammers in first half of 2025 as govt official impersonation, phishing cases go up

Scam victims in Singapore lost less money in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, with the number of cases declining for the first time since 2021.

Releasing the mid-year scam and cybercrime statistics on Saturday (Aug 30), the police said the total amount that victims were cheated off in 2025 — $456.4 million — dropped by 12.6 per cent from $522.4 million in 2024.

The overall number of scam cases also fell, from 26,563 to 19,665 in the same period.

While the dip in cases and money lost from scammers had buckled an upward trend observed over the past four years, the police said that the scam situation “remains of concern”.

The median loss per case went up to $1,500 in the first half of the year, compared to $1,100 last year. More people were also cheated of at least $100,000 from scammers in 2025, according to the police.

In 78.8 per cent of the total cases from January to June this year, the scammers did not gain control of the victims’ accounts but manipulated them into transferring money through deception and social engineering.

It was 86.1 per cent in the same period in 2024, which the police attributed the dip to public education efforts which led to increased public vigilance.

“That said, the number of self-effected transfers is still high… the police urge the public to exercise caution when making fund transfers, such as verifying the legitimacy of such requests beforehand.” 

The police identified Government officials impersonation scams, phishing scams, investment scams and insurance services scams of particular concern.

The number of reported cases involving victims who were duped by scammers posing as Government officials almost tripled, increasing by 199.2 per cent to 1,762 cases in 2025 from 589 last year.

AsiaOne had reported of scammers impersonating as officers from the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office and staff from the National Crime Prevention Council. 

The amount of losses also increased from $67.2 million to $126.5 million during the same period.

Warning a new rising trend of such scams, the police said that victims are pressured into withdrawing cash, purchasing gold bars or declaring valuable possessions before meeting cash mules to hand them over, which the scammers claim are for investigation purposes.

Since May 2025, there has also been a pattern of scammers providing their credit card details to victims, while instructing them to make fund transfers from their bank accounts.

Meanwhile, phishing scams saw the highest number of reported cases among all types of scams in the first half of 2025 — a 10.9 per cent hike to 3,779 cases from 3,407 reported in 2024.

The amount lost also increased significantly by 134 per cent, from $13 million in 2024 to $30.4 million in 2025.

While the 2,698 cases of investment scams made up only 13.7 per cent of the total number of scam cases in the first half of 2025, victims lost $145.4 million — the highest amount lost of all scams.

The first half of the year saw the emergence of a new type of scam, which involves scammers impersonating staff from insurance companies to bait victims with supposedly outstanding insurance premiums.

To proceed with the cancellation, victims were asked to verify their identity by sharing personal details and transferring money, with false promises of refunds after verification.

There were 791 insurance services scam cases reported in 2025, with about $21.3 million lost.

On a positive front, the police said that there were significant decreases in both the number of cases reported and amount of losses for job scams, fake friend call scams and e-commerce scams.

About 60.3 per cent of all victims were youths, young adults and adults below the age of 50, with most falling for e-commence scams.

The elderly, which the police defined as age 65 and above, made up 15 per cent of scam victims. But the amount of losses was the highest among the various age groups — at $33,672 per victim.

The Singapore Police Force’s Anti-Scam Command recovered more than $56.7 million of scam losses, and averted at least $179 million in potential losses. 

In a recent incident, the police recovered $250,000 after a woman in her 40s was tricked into sending her life savings to scammers posing as cops from China.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming said that despite the fall in scam cases and losses in the first half of 2025, scams and cybercrime “remain a persistent and serious threat to Singaporeans”.

The increase in phishing and Government officials impersonation cases also showed that scammers are adapting their methods and “targeting our vulnerabilities”, added Goh, who is also Minister of State for Family Development.

“Therefore, we need to strengthen our defences and pursue scammers relentlessly, and keep up with our public education and engagement efforts,” he said.

“Every member of the public must also remain alert to scam tactics and take personal responsibility to safeguard themselves and their families."

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chingshijie@asiaone.com