Episode Details

Synopsis: This is a new podcast by The Straits Times to raise greater public awareness of the modern scourge of scams in Singapore and globally.

In Singapore, nearly $1 billion has been lost by scam victims since 2016. Mutating and spreading, different types of scams have infiltrated every aspect of our lives, from love to work. The police are cracking down on offenders. What can you do to protect yourself?

In this episode, ST's deputy news editor Andre Yeo and journalist Jessie Lim speak with Superintendent of Police Michelle Tay, the head of the Anti-Scam Centre, launched in 2019. Their job is to disrupt the scammers’ operations and help victims to try to recover their money. 

Highlights (click/tap above):

02:15 Step-by-step guide: What to do if you're a scam victim, and what the police do when liaising with banks and fintech institutions

04:10 Why is it so hard to recover scam victims' monies once the funds are transferred out of Singapore?

05:15 What is the Community Watch Scheme and the new e-commerce Transaction Safety rating? 

07:00 What are the new scam tactics emerging in 2022? More on the pig-butchering scam which combines tactics used in love and investment scams

09:33 How scammers are targeting youths, offering up to $2,000 to buy their digital identity credentials, and why this is an offence for teenagers involved

09:56 When Supt Tay’s mother received a scam call claiming she had been kidnapped

Listen to Ep 1 - Near impossible to recover your money once scammers transfer it out of Singapore: https://str.sg/wuZB

Public can join these police schemes:

Community Watch Scheme: https://go.gov.sg/spf-cws

Crime Prevention Ambassadors: https://www.ncpc.org.sg/cpas.html

Citizens on Patrol: https://go.gov.sg/citizensonpatrol

ST's Stop Scams articles: https://str.sg/wWt9

• Anti-Scam Hotline: 1800-722-6688 (9am - 5pm); https://www.scamalert.sg/

• National Care Hotline: 1800-202-6868 (8am - 12am); https://ccs.org.sg/nch/

Produced by: Andre Yeo (andrey@sph.com.sg), Jessie Lim (ljessie@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis and Teo Tong Kai

Edited by: Teo Tong Kai

Follow ST's Stop Scams podcast series here:

Stop Scams Channel: https://str.sg/wuZB

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/wu3e

Spotify: https://str.sg/wuJj

Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wE7S

SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/

Websites: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: