SINGAPORE – At least 6,600 victims have fallen prey to an online job scam since January, with losses totalling at least $96.8 million, police said on Saturday.

In this scam, scammers entice victims by giving them commission for completing simple surveys before offering them fake job opportunities. 

According to the police, victims would receive unsolicited WhatsApp or Telegram messages asking them to fill up a survey or questionnaire. Victims might also be asked to boost Instagram posts by liking them. 

Upon completing these tasks, victims would receive a small commission. Once the victims are reeled in by the commission, the scammers would ask them to join another WhatsApp or Telegram group to perform “more rewarding tasks”, said the police in an advisory.

These tasks include boosting the value of cryptocurrencies and/or reviewing online merchants. To perform these tasks, the victims would have to create accounts on scam websites and transfer money to bank accounts provided by the scammers. In some cases, the scammers would instruct victims to provide an advance payment of large sums of their own money for various reasons.

The victims would realise they have been scammed only when they fail to withdraw their commission, or when the scammers can no longer be contacted.

The police are advising people to download the ScamShield app and to set security features – such as two-factor authentication – for important bank, social media and Singpass accounts. 

“Do not accept dubious job offers that offer lucrative returns for minimal effort,” said the police. 

According to statistics from the police, more than half of scam victims are young adults aged 20 to 39, and job scams are the most common scam type they fall for.

Scams are on the rise in Singapore, with more cases reported in the first half of 2023 than in the same period last year.