Singapore police launched an arcade-style anti-scam game, which aims to educate children and the youth about scams.
What caused this? Well, the advancements in technology and the internet give scammers more opportunities to trick people. Most of them succeed in fooling their victims when they pose as banks or trusted payment sites.
Furthermore, internet scams a continuously evolving. At present, con artists around the world are likely to target a computer or mobile devices. Concerning this, every individual needs to safeguard their wallet and personal information.
Fortunately, in Singapore, police officials launched an anti-scam game that teaches the youth to avoid online scammers.
In this article, you'll read years of:
- Police Officials Release Anti-scam Game for Youth
- Let’s Get To Know Online Scams
- Best Tips to Avoid Online Scammers
Police Officials Release Anti-scam Game for Youth
Police recorded more than $2.7 million worth of money stolen from 587 phishing scam victims. That estimate spans only the first half of 2022. Most of these scammers convince their targets to give money by posing as friends.
"Scams continue to be a crime of concern that affects Singaporeans. We want to educate and raise awareness among Singaporeans on scams from an early age," stated a police spokesman.
To combat this threat, police officials designed an anti-scam game crafted for the youth. With this, young individuals can warn their parents and elders about different scams.
On the 25th of June, the Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development officially launched the game. Minister Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim introduce it during the 22nd edition of the Delta League tournament. The event started on the 28th of May to the 25th of June.
Goals of Launching Anti-scam Game for Youngsters
The authorities aimed to spread awareness about common scams. Their goal centres on educating children and youth. The game features scenarios of voice phishing scams, job scams, and social media impersonation scams.
They can enjoy the arcade-style game in select public areas. In addition to this, officials also arranged to release a related card game to different schools.
Concerning this, the main target of this game idea is those between 7 to 19 years old. According to the police spokesman, this group made up about 7% of scam victims between January and March this year.
The Ministry of Home Affairs and National Development collaborated with the National Crime Prevention Council to accomplish this project. The tournament uses sports and e-sports to keep the youth occupied during the school break. Below are the two games that parents can watch out for.
Scam Me if You Can
Teens and kids can engage in an interactive quiz game with Scam Me If You Can. It takes about 5 minutes to finish on a digital kiosk.
In it, players answer anti-scam quizzes on the touch screen to gain points. When they earn enough points, they can be able to win a mystery prize dispensed from the machine.
The authorities aim to deploy the kiosk at public locations with high footfall. In July, they will start putting it at the Singapore Management University and Clementi Community Library at Clementi Mall. After that, they will be deploying the other machines to other locations.
ScamBat
The second game that the police launched is called ScamBat. Officials collaborated with students from the Media, Arts and Design School of Singapore Polytechnic for this game.
In it, players draw from a deck of scam cards and check through their hands of cards. They must see if they have a suitable defensive card to fend off the scam and earn points.
The game is meant to be a fun way to train players to recognise the various types of scams. According to its rule book, players should be able to react appropriately depending on the kind of scam.
The authorities will be distributing about 10,500 sets to 385 schools by the end of June. They will be including primary schools, polytechnics, and universities.
Let’s Get To Know Online Scams
Thanks to the Singapore police's anti-scam games, we can rest easy in letting our kids learn about scams. As parents, we can do our part and know more about online scams to watch out for.
If you regularly watch the news, scams are very prevalent these days, especially online. To avoid becoming a victim, you must know about the different types of online scams. Online scams through email and websites can be 'free trial' offers, bogus emails, or counterfeit goods. Below are some of the most common examples:
- Copycat government websites
- Dating and romance scams
- Holiday Frauds
- Mandate Fraud
- Pharming
- Phishing Emails
Best Tips to Avoid Online Scammers
Below are the 2 best tips to avoid unsafe websites.
- Reliable websites start with HTTPS, not HTTP.
- The website address should not change to a slightly different spelling after loading.
Moreover, we also advise you to connect to safe and secure WiFi connections. This especially applies to using your bank apps when in public. Remember to use your private connection when using online apps connected to money.
Additionally, we encourage you to keep your virus protection software up-to-date at all times. Always craft strong passwords for different accounts. However, you also need to avoid using the same password and change them when advised.