At least $1.4 million lost to scams in fake social media ads offering cheap goods since July

Victims encountered the fraudulent advertisements offering cheap products on social media.

PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

Published Oct 02, 2026, 10:26 PM

Updated Oct 02, 2026, 10:26 PM

At least 246 people lost $1.4 million to phishing scams from fake social media ads offering cheap goods since July in Singapore.

Victims were tricked into entering card details and OTPs on phishing sites, realising the scam only after unauthorised transactions occurred.

Police report a rise in such scams, advise using "ACT" steps, and note $410.6 million lost in scams in first half of 2026, down from 2025.

SINGAPORE – At least 246 people have fallen victim to phishing scams involving fraudulent social media advertisements since July, losing at least $1.4 million after being lured by deals for cheap food, fashion and household products.

In a statement on Oct 2, the police said victims encountered the ad vertisement s, which offered affordable products, on social media.

Victims who clicked on the advertisements were redirected to phishing websites and were asked to enter their card details and/or i-banking credentials.

Some victims also provided o ne- t ime p asswords (OTPs) or authorised digital tokens to complete the transactions.

They realise d that they had been scammed only after unauthorised transactions were made to their card or bank accounts.

The police said there has been a surge in such cases, and advised the public to follow the “ACT” framework – Add security features, Check for signs, and Tell the authorities and others about scams.

The public can also visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24-hour ScamShield Helpline at 1799 for more information on scams.

In its mid-year scam statistics , the police said $410.6 million was lost to scams in the first six months of 2026, a fall from the $500.2 million lost during the same period in 2025.

The number of scam cases fell by around 14 per cent from 19,644 cases in the first half of 2025 to 16,821 during the same period in 2026.

Singapore has lost more than $4 billion to scams since 2019.

受害者在社交媒体上遇到了提供廉价产品的欺诈广告。

照片：新加坡警察部队

发布于 2026 年 10 月 2 日晚上 10:26

更新于2026年10月2日晚上10:26

自7月以来，新加坡至少有246人因虚假社交媒体广告中的网络钓鱼诈骗损失了140万美元，这些广告兜售廉价商品。

受害者被诱骗在钓鱼网站上输入银行卡信息和一次性密码，直到发生未经授权的交易后才意识到自己被骗。

警方报告称此类诈骗案件有所增加，建议采取“ACT”措施，并指出2026年上半年因诈骗造成的损失为4.106亿美元，低于2025年的水平。

新加坡——自7月以来，至少有246人成为涉及欺诈性社交媒体广告的网络钓鱼诈骗的受害者，被廉价食品、时尚和家居用品的优惠所诱惑，损失至少140万美元。

警方在 10 月 2 日的一份声明中表示，受害者在社交媒体上看到了这些广告，广告中提供了价格实惠的产品。

点击广告的受害者会被重定向到钓鱼网站，并被要求输入他们的银行卡信息和/或网上银行凭证。

一些受害者还提供了一次性密码 (OTP) 或授权的数字令牌来完成交易。

他们直到银行卡或银行账户被盗刷后才意识到自己被骗了。

警方表示，此类案件激增，并建议公众遵循“ACT”框架——增加安全措施、检查迹象、向当局和其他人举报诈骗行为。

公众还可以访问 www.scamshield.gov.sg 或拨打 24 小时防诈骗热线 1799 了解更多关于诈骗的信息。

警方在年中诈骗统计数据中表示，2026 年上半年因诈骗损失了 4.106 亿美元，低于 2025 年同期损失的 5.002 亿美元。

诈骗案件数量从 2025 年上半年的 19,644 起下降到 2026 年同期的 16,821 起，降幅约为 14%。

自 2019 年以来，新加坡因诈骗损失超过 40 亿美元。