The Singapore Police Force (SPF) have done a great job in shooting down the rates of crimes involving violence, housebreaking, theft, robbery and more. But the transgression they weren’t able to reduce over the last year? Crimes committed against the heart. *badum tsh*
Okay, no seriously, internet love scams are bad and their victims end up both heartbroken and financially worse off.
According to SPF’s annual crime report released today, one of the biggest concerns for Singapore is the fact that internet love scams rose significantly — from 385 cases in 2015 to 636 cases in 2016. Such scams would typically involve an attractive stranger befriending the victim online, garnering adoration and trust before telling a tall tale about falling into hard times. The scammer will then request for money to be wired over as an act of love, but will then vanish once its transferred.
Other scams of concern include the usual cheating done in e-commerce (Carousell, Ebay, Craigslist, etc), and the trending scam involving the impersonation of China officials. What happens is that victims will get a random phone call from someone purporting to be government official, who’ll ask or threaten for sensitive personal particulars.
The overall crime rate in Singapore however fell by 2.6 percent in 2016 compared to 2015, so that’s a good thing. Crimes such as robbery, housebreaking, motor vehicle related thefts and snatch theft even registered a 30-year low.
“The overall crime rate per 100,000 population similarly decreased from 611 in 2015 to 588 cases in 2016.This is the lowest in the last three years and compares favourably with other major cities,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigations and Intelligence) Tan Chye Hee.
“Singapore remains one of the safest countries in the world today.”
Oh it’s safe alright, until you fall under the spell of sweet nothings and affectionate confessions deep enough to transfer huge amounts of money without verification.
