E-commerce scams more than doubled in the first quarter of this year, with 1,159 cases recorded, compared with 536 cases in the same period last year.
The amount lost to such scams rose from $469,000 in the first quarter of last year to more than $1.3 million in the same period this year, according to the latest figures released by the police on Thursday.
The increase is partly due to circuit breaker measures that have seen more people staying home and relying on the Internet to work remotely, study and connect with friends, said the commander of Bedok Police Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police Julius Lim.
AC Lim wrote in a Forum letter in The Straits Times that the e-commerce scams initially involved the sale of face masks, but quickly expanded to the sale of game consoles as people cooped up at home turned to alternative outlets of entertainment. The cons also targeted people looking for laptops, he added.
"Scammers typically tout low prices for these goods, which inevitably attract unwitting customers looking for good deals online," he said.
Customers often paid up, but never received the goods.
AC Lim said that the situation was not unique to Singapore, and other countries have also reported significant increases in scams related to Covid-19.
To tackle such crimes, the police conducted islandwide operations between Feb 1 and April 6 and arrested 22 people responsible for e-commerce scams to the tune of $745,000.
The police's Anti-Scam Centre has partnered banks to freeze accounts, thus disrupting scam operations and mitigating monetary losses. The centre is also working with telecommunications companies to terminate scam-related phone numbers, and with online marketplaces to block suspicious advertisements and monikers.
AC Lim said the police are on board with other government agencies in an effort coordinated by the inter-ministry committee on scams, led by Senior Parliamentary Secretary Sun Xueling.
One result of this effort is the blocking of international calls that spoof local emergency numbers 999 and 995, said AC Lim.
Since April 15, a "+" prefix has also shown up on phone screens for incoming calls from abroad, to alert the public to the possibility of these being scam calls.
However, the best way to fight scams is for the public to be vigilant, said AC Lim.
He urged the public to check a seller's reviews when shopping online and ask for cash on delivery where possible, or use services that release payment only upon delivery.
