Debated in Parliament on 3 Mar 2022.
Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) for the last three years, what is the annual number of victims of job scams who are aged 60 and above; and (b) what are the targeted measures to protect seniors who are looking for jobs from falling prey to these scams.
The Minister of State for Home Affairs (Mr Desmond Tan) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, from 2019 to 2021, there were 4,722 reports of job scam cases. Those aged 60 older formed about 2% of the total number of victims. The majority – around 70% – were younger adults aged between 20 and 39. This is not surprising, given that this group is more likely to be searching for jobs and are also more willing to try out online or remote work.
Job scams exploit victims' interest in easy, work-from-home settings, such as to generate hype on e-commerce platforms, or traction for social media accounts and content. In many of these cases, scammers had created professional-looking apps with references to e-commerce listings or social media posts, to enhance the appearance of legitimacy. In this way, the scammers deceive the victims into thinking that they were participating in a genuine job scheme.
Scammers would then require the victims to download apps and set up user accounts by transferring funds to bank accounts that are created by the scammers. Victims were then instructed to perform tasks, such as purchasing of items or clicking on posts to generate views, before they could receive their commissions. Victims usually only realised that they were scammed when they did not receive their commissions or were unable to withdraw money from their accounts after performing their assigned tasks.
To address this, education is key to protect people from falling prey to scams. Our anti-scam public education campaign, called "Spot the Signs. Stop the Crimes." is in its second year and its coverage includes job scams.
To reach out to seniors, the Police work with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and Silver Generation Office (SGO). We have also worked with MCI and IMDA through the SG Cyber Safe Seniors programme and the Seniors Go Digital programme in our outreach to our seniors.
Besides education, we have also stepped up enforcement efforts. Specialised units have been set up in SPF to disrupt scammers' operations and these include the Anti-Scam Division (ASD). Specifically for job scams, SPF has conducted targeted operations to dismantle the syndicates. Between September and November 2021, SPF conducted three island-wide anti-scam enforcement operations targeting money mules linked to job scams. These led to the arrest of 135 individuals and investigation of 141 others.
Given the transnational nature of job scams, the Police have stepped up collaboration with foreign law enforcement agencies. In December 2021, SPF worked with the Royal Malaysia Police to dismantle two scam syndicates believed to have perpetrated job scams and fixed deposit investment scams targeting Singaporeans. Fifteen people were arrested – eight in Malaysia and seven in Singapore.
As I had mentioned, the best defence against scams is a discerning public. When looking for jobs, members of the public should always exercise healthy scepticism and verify the legitimacy of the job offer. They should also refrain from making any advance payments to secure a job.
Mr Yip Hon Weng.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Will the Ministry consider working with Workforce Singapore and NTUC's e2i to include measures for job scams in their job coaching curriculum for senior jobseekers?
Indeed, IMDA constantly work with the stakeholders and agencies to expand our outreach to different stakeholders, to different target groups and to help prevent scams from happening. We will take into consideration the Member's suggestions in our continued engagement and education efforts to prevent scams from reaching especially our seniors.
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