Victims have lost $60,000 in lucky draw scams since May 20; public urged to be vigilant

SINGAPORE – Victims have lost at least $60,000 in lucky draw scams involving Facebook Live since May 20, with at least 33 cases reported, the police said on June 15.

In an advisory, the police urged the public to be vigilant against such ruses, which involve scammers promoting scratch cards or lottery tickets offering cash prizes on Facebook live streams.

After buying the scratch cards or lottery tickets, the scammers would tell the victims that they had won a large cash prize, the police said.

The victims would then be asked to transfer money to claim their winnings for “administrative fees”, among other reasons.

In most cases, victims are told to make these payments via a PayNow QR code linked to a Liquidpay account, said police.

The victims would realise they had been scammed only when they did not receive their “winnings”, or when they could not contact the scammers.

In their advisory, the police told the public not to transfer or hand over money or other valuables to unknown people.

The public may download the ScamShield app to protect themselves from scams, the police added. They may also set transaction limits on internet banking transactions or use a money lock feature to protect savings in bank accounts from scams.

The public may also check for signs of scams with official sources, such as the ScamShield app or its website.

The police added that fraudulent transactions should be reported to banks immediately.

Scams in Singapore have cost victims more than $4 billion since 2019 . In 2025, there were 37,308 cases, with $913.1 million lost.

For more information on scams, call the ScamShield Helpline on 1799 or visit scamshield.gov.sg