As Singapore is a global financial hub which plays host to many Multinational Corporations (MNCs), the country is a prime target for cybercrime. Furthermore, individuals in the country are known to be affluent and well-connected to the cyber world. A study conducted by Symantec consumer division Norton revealed that 70% of Internet users in Singapore have fallen victim to cybercrimes, and that 71% of such users do not expect cyber-criminals to be brought to justice. Most victims choose to stay silent about cybercrime as their financial losses are minimal and the costs of resolving the crime are high. This silent digital epidemic has caused many cybercrimes to go unreported and serves only to encourage cyber-criminals.

Cybercrime is essentially traditional crime such as fraud, extortion, and theft, facilitated through the use of a computer and a network. 

Mild cases of cybercrime committed by Singaporeans have received coverage in the news. The sentencing of 17 year old, Garyl Tan Jia, and 21 year old, Lin Zhenghuang, for crimes of mooching off another person’s wireless network saw Singapore to be the regional pioneer in clamping down on wireless network freeloaders. 

More extreme cases of cybercrime can be seen through the scandal of UltimateBet and AbsolutePoker.

Gamers of these two renowned online poker gaming websites reported that there were users cheating in games and winning millions by doing so. The investigation that ensued did not resolve much as no clear culprit was identified due to the companies’ decisions to remain silent about this issue. The players of AbsolutePoker were refunded approximately $1.6 million in total, and UltimateBet had to reimburse its players a total of $21.1 million. It is said that the culprits had hacked into the websites and cracked their software. These culprits are rumoured to be former employees of the websites who had also secretly installed a back door in the software which allowed them to spy on players’ cards. 

As the internet is becoming the centre for commerce and entertainment, users are becoming more susceptible to cybercrime. The transaction of money over the internet is commonplace, and this makes us more vulnerable to crimes such as fraud, scams, and theft. Furthermore, the lack of laws guarding the internet makes it difficult for cyber-criminals to be prosecuted. Normally, cheating in traditional casinos would warrant the culprit’s arrest, but when it is done over the internet, the blame shifts from the culprit to the company. This is apparent in the case of UltimateBet and AbsolutePoker, where both companies were blamed for allowing cheating to occur in their websites, and the culprits did not face charges and did not have to return the money to the companies. 

Also, with technological advancements made cheaper and more available to the masses, there are an increasing number of mobile internet users and a new form of cybercrime that takes place in this medium. As the 3G technology is relatively new, most of us are unaware of the risks of accessing the internet over our mobile network. “Smishing” is a form of cybercrime that is similar to phishing as it uses social engineering techniques to gather personal information from its targets. Smishing victims typically receive a mobile phone text message containing a website link and a statement that warrants one’s immediate attention; for instance, “DBS is confirming that you have purchased a $3000 computer from IBM. Visit http://www.fakewebsite.com/ if you did not make this online purchase.” The website that the target will respond to will be a legitimate looking website which will ask for personal information such as one’s address, credit card number, CVV code, ATM card PIN etcetera. 

In 2010, the Cyber Crime police station of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) in India reported that there were several incidents of smishing in the country. It was reported that upon clicking the web link in the text message, malware gets downloaded in the user’s mobile phone memory, enabling the hacker to read all the data stored in the phone. Several women have complained about cases of blackmailing through smishing; for instance, their intimate videos and pictures stored on their mobile phone were used to coerce them into paying money to the cybercriminals. 

Such forms of cybercrime that utilize social engineering are not as easy for us to detect as it plays on our reactions and behaviour to certain messages. For instance, the Nigerian scam banks in on our human inclination to seek easy monetary rewards, and although it has been unsuccessful due to it being too widespread, people are still being conned by versions of this scam. Smishing utilizes social engineering as it scares its victims into thinking that they are paying for something they did not purchase.