SINGAPORE: At least S$32.6 million (US$24 million) has been lost to investment scams since January, with about 470 cases reported.
Urging the public to remain vigilant, the police on Tuesday (Feb 11) highlighted how scammers have been targeting victims on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp and the dating platform Coffee Meets Bagel.
Scammers would build rapport with victims to gain their trust before introducing them to “investment opportunities”, which would sometimes involve cryptocurrencies.
Victims would be asked to open accounts at crypto exchanges and transfer money into the accounts to purchase cryptocurrencies.
They are then tricked into transferring the cryptocurrencies to fraudulent cryptocurrency trading platforms or the scammers’ own wallets.
In some cases, victims would initially receive small profits from the scammer to induce them to continue investing.
Fake websites or applications displaying a purported rise in profits would also lead victims to invest larger sums, the police said.
