Quarterly Scam Losses by Typology from 2023 to 2025, Victims’ Age, Loss Recovery Rate and Time Taken to Freeze Funds

Question:

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry: To ask the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) for each quarter from 2023 to 2025, what is the total amount of scam losses by typology; (b) what is the median age of victims; (c) what proportion of scam losses have been recovered; and (d) what has been the median time taken to freeze funds after issuance of restriction orders by the Police.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs:

1. The Member may refer to the Scam and Cybercrime Briefs published half-yearly on the Police website for the amounts lost to the top 10 most commonly reported scam types, and the proportion of scam victims by age group.

2. In the first half of this year, the median age of scam victims was 43 years old.

3. During the same period, the Police recovered more than $56.7 million of scam losses. The Police do not track the time taken to freeze funds in a bank account after the issuance of an order to the local banks. Typically, this is within hours or a day.