Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – The Singapore Police Force released its 2025 full-year data on February 25th, showing that for the first time, both the number of fraud cases and the amount of losses suffered in the country decreased simultaneously. The number of cases dropped from 51,501 in 2024 to 37,308 (a decrease of 27.6%), and losses decreased from S$1.1124 billion to S$913.1 million (a decrease of 17.9%). This marks the first time since the police began tracking this data that both figures have declined.
Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development, Goh Poh Meng, stated that this achievement is attributed to the government's anti-fraud measures and multi-party cooperation. However, the fight against fraud is not over, as scammers continue to innovate their methods, and the public needs to remain vigilant.
Alarmingly, among the top 10 types of fraud, scams impersonating government officials have more than doubled: the number of cases increased from 1,504 to 3,363, and losses rose from 151.3 million yuan to 242.9 million yuan. Victims aged 65 and above accounted for 34% of the total. In these scams, over 90% of the perpetrators first impersonate financial institution personnel, then refer the victims to "government officials" to induce them to transfer money; some directly impersonate police officers. The methods have evolved from demanding valuable items to inducing transfers via PayNow to accounts like YouTrip, or tricking victims into opening cryptocurrency accounts for transfers. Police responded that they will strengthen anti-fraud education for the elderly and other groups, while also increasing efforts to crack down on scammers and money mules.
Data shows that in 2025, police recovered 140.5 million yuan in fraud losses (including 117.7 million yuan in fiat currency and over 22.8 million yuan in cryptocurrency), and prevented potential losses of 348 million yuan through proactive intervention. Furthermore, cryptocurrency fraud losses reached 182.2 million yuan (accounting for nearly 20% of total losses), with Tether, Ethereum, and Bitcoin ranking as the top three cryptocurrencies.
The Cybercrime Hazards Act (OCHA) code of conduct, passed in 2024, has shown effectiveness. Designated online service providers such as Meta, Telegram, WeChat, and Carousell have all established fraud prevention mechanisms, and TikTok was included in the designated scope in September 2025. Data shows that fraud cases involving OCHA-designated platforms have decreased significantly by 36.5%.
