SINGAPORE: At least  , S$ 32.6 million ( US$ 24 million ) has been lost to investment scams since January, with about 470 cases reported.
Urging the public to remain vigilant, the police on Tuesday ( Feb 11 ) highlighted how scammers have been targeting victims on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp and the dating platform Coffee Meets Bagel.
Scammers may develop rapport with patients to gain their trust before introducing them to “investment possibilities”, which may often involve cryptocurrencies.
Patients may be asked to start records at crypto exchanges and transfer funds into the records to purchase , bitcoin.
Finally, they are deceived into using fraud-like cryptocurrency trading platforms or the defrauders ‘ own cards to transfer the funds.
In some cases, victims had first receive , small earnings from the scam to induce them to proceed investing.
According to the police, fraudulent websites or applications that advertise a allegedly increased profit would also encourage victims to invest more money, according to the police.