Singapore recorded $410.6 million lost to scams in the first half of 2026, a decline from $500.2 million during the same period in 2025. The number of reported scam cases also fell about 14 percent, from 19,644 in early 2025 to 16,821 in 2026, according to the Singapore Police Force’s mid-year report released today [1, 2, 3, 4].

Cryptocurrency scams accounted for $65.5 million, or 16 percent of total scam losses in the period, marking a 43 percent drop from the previous year. Investment scams caused the greatest financial damage, with $169.8 million lost across 2,256 cases, despite declines in both amounts [2].

E-commerce scams were the most frequent type in H1 2026 with 3,865 cases, a 19.3 percent increase, and losses rose 18.9 percent to about $8.3 million. Victims typically realized they were scammed after failing to receive purchased goods or seeing other buyers' complaints online, the police noted [2, 3, 4].

Cases involving Pokemon trading card scams surged from 279 to 605, with related losses reaching $1.2 million, though previous loss figures were not disclosed [1, 2, 3, 4].

Older victims aged 65 and above made up 14.4 percent of scam victims and suffered the highest average loss of $42,347, mainly from government impersonation and investment scams. Adults between 30 and 49 years accounted for 36 percent of victims, mostly affected by e-commerce, phishing, and job scams [1, 3, 4].

Police disrupted over 47,000 scam-related mobile lines, 37,500 WhatsApp lines, 31,600 online aliases, and 52,200 malicious websites in the first half of 2026 to curb scam activities. Scammers primarily used social engineering to trick victims into voluntarily handing over money rather than hacking accounts directly [1, 3, 4].

Since 2019, Singapore has lost more than $4 billion to scams. Authorities have collaborated with major platforms including Apple, Google, and Meta to implement anti-scam measures online [1, 3, 4].

The Singapore Police Force said, "While the scam situation has improved, the high number of cases and losses remains a concern, and tackling scams continues to be a national priority" [2].

The police’s next scheduled update on scam cases and losses is expected with the end of the full year 2026 report.