Victims lose $36m in under 2 months to conmen touting investments on social media, chat groups
There were 897 cases of investment scams reported since July, the police said on Aug 14. PHOTO: ST FILE
Sarah Koh
UPDATED
AUG 14, 2024, 08:13 PM
SINGAPORE – Victims lost at least $36 million in less than two months to conmen touting investment scams on chat groups and social media platforms, police said.
In a statement on Aug 14, the police said there were 897 cases of investment scams reported since July, in which victims were lured into parting with money to channel into investments, which then turned out to be scams.
Recently, scammers used two methods. The first involved adding victims into chat groups or communication channels. The second method involved befriending the victims on social media platforms.
In the first method, victims were added into chat groups on platforms such as Telegram, and the scammers pretended to be famous people or reputable companies, said the police.
Unidentified people in the chat group would then claim to have profited from their investments, and shared screenshots of their profits, in an attempt to make victims believe that the investments were authentic and profitable.
After the victims contacted the scammers, they were offered a raft of investment plans, and were asked to provide their personal details like their bank account number, name and phone number, and transfer money to specified bank and PayNow accounts. Fake investment websites or applications were sometimes used to display fake profits, making the scam look more believable, the police added.
The second method involved scammers contacting victims through social media platforms like Facebook or WhatsApp, or dating applications like Coffee Meets Bagel. After building rapport and gaining the trust of victims, scammers would talk to them about investment opportunities. Those who were interested would then follow the instruction of scammers to transfer money to specified bank or PayNow accounts.
