The next wave of successful scams will most likely find a way around these protections and will be very difficult to spot.

When this happens, victims will ultimately have little or no recourse and may have to bear the full brunt of the losses.

Even if they file a police report, the chances of getting their money back are very low.

In the first half of 2024, victims in Singapore lost an estimated $385.6 million to scams. The Anti-Scam Command said it managed to recover around $54 million during the same period.

This represents a recovery rate of approximately 15 percent.

In 2022, AC Yap told the media that once the money is transferred out of Singapore, it as if it was gone.

To help mitigate losses, banks have introduced the Money Lock initiative, which allows users to lock a specified portion of their funds.

This money can only be withdrawn in person at a branch or ATM, preventing people from losing all their savings in the event of a scam.

OCBC, DBS Bank and UOB rolled out the feature in November 2023. Maybank, Standard Chartered, Citibank and HSBC followed in June.

The effectiveness of the initiative has already been proven, with the first case of money lock feature thwarting scammers reported in September.

It is essential to note that such initiatives do not prevent a person from being scammed, but provide protection in case one falls prey.

Mr Abraham said it is now inevitable to fall victim to scams unless you choose to live your life risk-free.

He said: “(It happens) when you’re tired, you don’t pay attention, you get stressed. It’s just about finding the right time.

“I truly believe that anyone can be scammed. If you haven’t been scammed, then you probably didn’t take any risks and didn’t survive.