Singapore fraud losses rise as APP scams take over

The report revealed human-initiated attacks in Singapore surged by 30% YoY, even as automated bot attacks declined by 27%.

Cybercriminals are targeting Singapore with increasing precision, driving a sharp rise in human-led cyberattacks whilst automated bot activity dropped, according to the LexisNexis Risk Solutions Cybercrime Report APAC 2025.

The report revealed human-initiated attacks in Singapore surged 30% YoY, even as automated bot attacks declined by 27%.

Singapore’s financial services sector bore the brunt of these attacks, with a 13% increase in attack rate, three times the country’s overall growth rate, making it the hardest-hit sector. The report notes: “Singapore’s financial services sector was hit especially hard, showing a 13% increase in attack rate—three times the country's overall attack rate growth.”

Fraud losses also reached record highs last year, with a marked shift in tactics from third-party account takeovers to authorized push payment (APP) fraud.

Meanwhile, human-initiated cyberattacks across Asia Pacific surged by 61% YoY, outpacing global trends and reversing last year’s decline.

Whilst total online transaction volume in the region grew by 16%, the overall attack rate jumped 37%, driven by an increase in complex fraud methods and the rapid spread of cross-border criminal networks.

Automated bot attacks, by contrast, declined 15%, highlighting a strategic shift in the threat landscape.

The communications, mobile, and media sector saw the sharpest increase in fraud, with attack rates up 87% and bot volumes rising 59%. The financial services industry, long a top target, experienced a 54% increase in attack rate and a 40% rise in bot activity.

Mobile remains the dominant channel across APAC, accounting for 86% of all consumer transactions and 50% of all fraud attacks. Despite a 7% decline in mobile attack volumes, mobile continues to be a central focus for cybercriminals due to its ubiquity and accessibility.

Desktop-based fraud remains a serious issue, with attack rates more than twice the global average at 5.5%. LexisNexis attributed this to continued vulnerabilities in traditional web interfaces and user behaviors that are easier to exploit on desktop platforms.

The most common form of fraud in the region remains third-party account takeover, making up 66.3% of all detected fraud. This is followed by first-party fraud (6.3%) and buyer fraud (4.9%).