Survey shows Singaporeans most susceptible to fraud

Fraud costs Singapore consumers an average of $1,648.52 per year.

A report has found that Singaporeans have been victimized by fraud more regularly than all other countries surveyed, the 2022 IBM Global Financial Fraud Impact Report said.

On average, fraud has cost the average Singaporean $1,648.52 per year in fraudulent financial charges made by unauthorised third parties.

Of the countries surveyed, Singapore ranks second in percentage of respondents who have experienced fraud across several categories: credit card fraud, debit card fraud, digital payment fraud (through apps such as Venmo, Zelle and PayPal), digital wallet fraud (such as Apple Pay and Google Pay), and tax fraud. In fact, Singapore ranked second in every category measuring types of financial fraud – with the exception of banking fraud (experiencing financial security issues with their banking institutions), in which it ranked first.

Nearly two out of five Singaporean respondents (39%) are not confident in their bank or credit card’s ability to handle fraudulent charges. Similarly, one-third (33%) are not confident in their financial institution’s ability to detect suspicious activity in their accounts, while more than one-third (35%) of Singaporean respondents are not confident in their bank’s ability to prevent fraud.

According to Neha Arora, managing director of Banking and Financial markets at IBM, the financial industry is amongst the most vulnerable to financial fraud and cyber threats because of the vast amount of money and valuable data that banks and investment firms process each day.

“The Singapore government is working on a comprehensive approach, working with each party in the ecosystem, to counter the threats. As for financial institutions, they must continue to protect their data and systems against current and future threats - as criminals continue to up their game. It is important to ensure that Singaporeans feel confident, safe, and secure in using financial services,” Arora added.