Investment Scam
As of December 2021
2476
victims
Have fallen prey to scammers
S$190.9
million
Total amount lost to scammers
S$6.4
million
Largest amount lost by an individual
WHAT IS AN INVESTMENT SCAM?
You receive a message from someone claiming to be stockbrokers or bank or financial company employees on social networking sites like Facebook, WeChat or Line. They ask you to share personal details like NRIC and passport numbers for an investment form. You are then asked to transfer money to banks in Hong Kong and China, pay hefty administrative and security fees, and taxes in order to receive the profits and returns.
You may also receive phone calls from people claiming to be from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority or Hong Kong Overseas Control Centre, asking for a deposit before profits can be released.
In other cases, you may be asked by an online friend to invest in cryptocurrencies, which are highly volatile and unregulated in Singapore.
Look out for these scam signs
Many online trading platforms that offer binary options are fraudulent.
Be wary of people offering investment returns that are unreasonably high.
Look out for unfamiliar platforms or entities based outside of Singapore.
How to stay safe
Please note that when dealing with unregulated entities, you will have little recourse if things go wrong. If an entity is based outside of Singapore, check if it is regulated with the respective overseas authority.
Investment Scam: Real Stories
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Protection
ScamShield blocks messages and calls from numbers known to be used in illegal activities.
Find out more at scamshield.org.sg.
