Seniors aged 65 and above made up 15% of scam victims in 2025, losing S$37,000 on average

SINGAPORE: Seniors aged 65 and above accounted for about 15 per cent of all scam victims in Singapore in 2025, making them the only age group to record an increase in victim numbers between 2024 and 2025, Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming told Parliament on 7 May 2026.

Responding to parliamentary questions from Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Dr Choo Pei Ling, Goh said senior scam victims lost an average of S$37,000 each, the highest average loss recorded across all age groups.

He added that about two in five senior victims fell prey to investment scams or government official impersonation scams.

The issue was raised during a parliamentary exchange focused on emerging scam patterns targeting seniors and the effectiveness of recovery measures after losses occur.

Dr Choo asked whether recent scam trends involving seniors had been observed and sought details on the proportion of reported losses involving seniors over the past three years that had been successfully recovered.

She also asked which measures had most improved scam recovery outcomes.

Recovery remains difficult

In his response, Goh said the police do not track the amount of scam proceeds recovered by individual age groups.

He reiterated that recovering scam proceeds remains highly challenging once funds leave Singapore.

“We’ve explained in this House before why the recovery of scam proceeds is very challenging once the money exits Singapore,” Goh said.

“The odds of it being recovered is very low.”

He said the police had nevertheless implemented several measures to improve asset recovery efforts.

These include strengthening international collaboration among law enforcement agencies and enhancing cryptocurrency tracing capabilities.

Goh referred MPs to the Annual Scam and Cybercrime Brief 2025 for further details on recovery initiatives and enforcement efforts.

Dr Choo later pressed the government on how Singapore was adapting to increasingly sophisticated scam operations targeting seniors.

She cited the rise of cross-border and multi-step scam operations and asked how Singapore was strengthening its broader anti-scam system design to stay ahead of rapidly evolving scam typologies rather than responding only after patterns emerge.

She also asked how coordination among banks, telecommunications companies and enforcement agencies was being further optimised to shorten the time between scam detection and intervention.

Dr Choo specifically questioned how authorities were improving the freezing of funds and disrupting scam flows before irreversible losses occur.

In addition, she asked what further safeguards were being introduced to counter increasingly sophisticated social engineering tactics exploiting trust, urgency and fear, particularly among seniors.

Whole-of-society anti-scam strategy

In response, Goh described scams as a major global challenge rather than a problem unique to Singapore.

“One report has it that last year more than US$440 billion were lost to scams globally,” he said.

“The financial incentive for scammers and perpetrators is immense.”

He added that scammers continuously innovate because of the substantial profits involved.

He agreed with Dr Choo’s call for a more proactive and upstream anti-scam strategy, saying the government had adopted a “whole-of-government, whole-of-society” approach involving multiple agencies and stakeholders.

Goh outlined several key pillars underpinning Singapore’s anti-scam strategy.

The first involved using powers under the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) to work closely with online service providers to reduce scam exposure across digital platforms.

He said authorities were moving “upstream” to reduce the overall threat surface presented by online services commonly exploited by scammers.

The second pillar focused on partnerships with banks, telecommunications firms and recognised cryptocurrency service providers.

These collaborations aim to prevent scams before they occur and improve intervention capabilities after scams have taken place.

Goh said the government was also strengthening Singapore’s enforcement and penalty framework to deter perpetrators and disrupt scam syndicates operating locally.

This includes pursuing overseas perpetrators where possible through cooperation with foreign partners and law enforcement agencies.

The government has also introduced tougher penalties against scam mules who facilitate the movement of illicit funds.

Public education remains another major component of Singapore’s anti-scam strategy.

Goh said authorities have intensified public education campaigns, including outreach specifically targeted at seniors.

These campaigns seek to raise awareness about the latest scam tactics and promote preventive measures citizens can adopt to protect themselves.

International cooperation was another area being expanded, he said.

Singapore is increasing collaboration with foreign governments, jurisdictions and law enforcement agencies to share intelligence, exchange best practices and shape global approaches to combating scams.

“We can do more and we want to continuously spare no effort in making sure we fight scams,” Goh said.

He also referred MPs to the Ministry of Home Affairs Committee of Supply debate speech delivered earlier in 2026, which detailed additional anti-scam initiatives being implemented.

Pritam Singh raises recovery rates

Workers’ Party MP Pritam Singh also entered the debate and questioned whether the MHA tracked the total amount of scam proceeds recovered nationwide.

Singh noted that while Goh had clarified that scam recovery data was not tracked according to age groups, it remained unclear whether overall national recovery figures were maintained.

He suggested that publishing recovery rates could help Singaporeans better understand the realities facing scam victims.

“That may help Singaporeans understand that if you’re a victim of scams, the prospect of recovering your money is actually very low,” Singh said.

In response, Goh confirmed that police do track the overall amount of scam proceeds recovered, although not by demographic categories.

“Yes indeed, the police does track the amount of scam proceeds recovered,” he said.

He added that recovered proceeds represented only “a small proportion” of the total amount lost to scams.

“I think that is also a useful reminder that indeed prevention is better than the follow-up pursuit of recovering monies,” Goh said.