In 80% of scams, victims were manipulated into sending money to scammers: Goh Pei Ming

SINGAPORE – Defence against scams starts with the individual, as anyone can fall prey to scams.

About four in five – or about 80 per cent – of scams are self-effected, meaning the money that victims lose is transferred by the victims themselves to the scammers.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming said this on Nov 8 at the launch of the inaugural National Anti-Scam Roadshow at Toa Payoh HDB Hub Atrium.

The roadshow, with the tagline “We Can ACT Against Scams”, is organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Digital Development and Information.

Being held on Nov 8 and 9 from 10am to 8pm, it features stage performances, interactive exhibits, games and educational activities.

Mr Goh said scammers use psychological tactics to deceive and manipulate victims, who end up transferring money into the scammer’s bank accounts.

He added: “This is why the Government has undertaken many public education efforts, such as the I Can Act Against Scams campaign. We hope to empower everyone to stay alert, to exercise healthy scepticism, especially when something looks too good to be true, to protect all of us.”

Some highlights of the roadshow include the Red Flag Railway, which consists of interactive panels about the scam situation in Singapore, and the Scammers Den, an immersive theatre experience that allows visitors to step into the shoes of a scam victim.

To engage visitors, booths have been set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, GovTech Singapore, the National Crime Prevention Council, the Infocomm Media Development Authority and Google, among others.

Noting that more than $450 million was lost to scams in the first half of 2025, Mr Goh said the Government has rolled out many anti-scam measures.

On Nov 4,

where scammers will get between six and 24 strokes of the cane, depending on the severity of the offence, under the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill.

This is to target syndicate members and recruiters, as well as those who help them, such as money mules who provide their bank accounts, SIM cards or Singpass credentials.

Money mules will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.

Mr Goh said: “We have typically reserved caning for only the most serious of crimes. Therefore, by imposing caning on (scammers), this shows how seriously we are taking the issue nationally. We will not let scammers or mules continue what they have been doing. We will not tolerate this.”

Other measures to tackle scams include working with online platforms to protect users through the introduction of codes of practice under the Online Criminal Harms Act. This requires designated service providers to implement measures on their platforms to protect users.

Between 2020 and the first nine months of 2025, there were about 190,000 scam cases reported, with losses amounting to at least $3.88 billion.

Mid-year scam statistics from the police showed that the

, e-commerce scams, job scams, investment scams and government official impersonation scams.

ScamsInternet crimes and scamsGoh Pei Ming