Singapore scam cases fall 21% in first half of 2025

Victims lost about $16.6m (S$21.3m) in total.

Scam and cybercrime cases in Singapore fell in the first half of 2025, but financial losses remain high, with insurance-related scams emerging as a new trend.

From January to June 2025, reported cases dropped 21.5% to 22,476, compared to 28,625 in the same period last year, according to the Mid-Year Scam and Cybercrime Brief. 

Scams made up 87.5% of all cases. The number of scam cases declined 26% year-on-year to 19,665. 

Insurance services scams were reported for the first time this year, with 791 cases recorded in the first six months. Victims lost about $16.6m (S$21.3m) in total.

Impersonation scams involving callers posing as bank or financial institution representatives, and later as government officials, remained the most common. 

Victims were often told their bank or insurance accounts were linked to suspicious transactions and then transferred to a second scammer claiming to be from an authority such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore. 

Victims were pressured to transfer funds to so-called “safety accounts” or hand over cash. This method accounted for 93.4% of impersonation cases in the first half of 2025.