SCAMMERS OPERATE LIKES COMMERCIAL BUSINESSES
Given that people are spending a lot of their time on social media platforms and messaging platforms, it comes as no surprise that scammers will exploit them there, said ASEAN cybersecurity leader at consulting firm EY Steve Lam.
Fraudsters operate like commercial businesses, he noted.
“Their behaviour … is not very different from what you would do if you were a legitimate business user. You get out there, you try to (reach out) to as many people as you can, get them to know about your products, get them interested, get them to connect with you,” he told CNA’s Singapore Tonight.
In Singapore, scammers connected with 40 per cent of their victims through social media, while 40 per cent of scams were performed via bank transfer, according to the GASA report.
Many countries are just becoming aware that scams are a serious problem, said GASA managing director Jorij Abraham.
“But we see in many countries that the number of law enforcement officers fighting scammers is marginal compared to the number of reports, so we’re just at the beginning, where many countries have to do a major catch up,” he told CNA’s Syahida Othman on the sidelines of the anti-scam summit.
He added that this is despite most people who get scammed not reporting it.
“They are unfortunately ashamed, but it’s a crime and it should be reported.”
