VNExpress/AsiaOne-Aug 27
Around one in two (48%) people in Singapore have received job offers from a fake recruiter as scams have become more prevalent in the city-state, a survey has found.
Meanwhile, some 45% of respondents reported being contacted by someone claiming to be a government official who requested personal information or a transfer of funds, while 30% had received messages or calls from someone pretending to be a close friend asking for money, according to a survey by news website AsiaOne.
The survey, carried out from January 5 to 23 this year, collected the opinions and experiences of 1,918 Singapore-based readers on the subject of scams. About 28% of respondents across all age groups reported falling victim to scams. The percentage was highest among those aged 25 to 34, with 34% having experienced scams, followed by 30% of those aged 45 to 54 and 29% for the 35 to 44 age group. Among those who had neither experienced scams nor known anyone who had, 77% thought retirees were particularly vulnerable, whereas working adults and parents of young children were considered less likely to fall victim to scams. However, official data reveals a different story: about 74.2% of all scam victims were youth, young adults, and adults under the age of 50, with many falling victim to e-commerce scams, according to The Straits Times. Seniors aged 65 and above made up just 7.2% of scam victims. Scams are on the rise in Singapore, having increased by 16.3% year-on-year to a record high of 26,587 incidents in the first half of 2024, as reported by CNA. Some S$385.6 million (US$295 million) was lost in these cases, a 24.6% increase from a year ago. Job scams ranked second in both the number of cases and total losses during this period. Read more at: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/economy/one-in-two-people-in-singapore-targeted-by-fake-job-scams-4786231.html
