{
  "id": 17205638,
  "title": "Common scam hooks turned into calligraphy at Maybank exhibition",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/common-scam-hooks-turned-into-calligraphy-at-maybank-exhibition",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-30T09:29:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times",
    "slug": "straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/common-scam-hooks-turned-into-calligraphy-at-maybank-exhibition"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "An exhibition in Singapore showcases deceptive phrases commonly used by scammers to lure victims into financial loss. The artwork, titled \"The Most Expensive Words,\" features black ink strokes that resemble traditional calligraphy, with phrases like \"Your bank seeks your assistance\" and \"$242 million\" revealed up close. This symbolises the $242 million lost in Singapore in 2025 due to government official impersonation scams. The Maybank Singapore exhibition, running until November 1, aims to alert the public to these scam hooks and help them identify red flags early. The display includes calligraphy-styled pieces in English and Mandarin with phrases used in various scams, such as \"High returns, zero risk,\" a popular tactic of investment scammers. Over $336 million was lost to investment scams in 2025, according to police data. These scams, along with government official impersonation scams, were among the top five scam types that year. Maybank's head of community financial services, Adam Tan, explained that the exhibition seeks to empower people to recognise warning signs and pause before making transfers. Scammers often rely on familiar names, urgent requests, or promises that sound too good to miss. Since 2019, Singapore has lost over $4 billion to scams, with $410.6 million lost in the first half of 2026 alone. Eight out of ten victims were manipulated into making transactions, indicating that scammers often use social engineering to deceive victims into voluntarily transferring money. In 2025, there were 37,308 scam cases reported, resulting in losses exceeding $913 million.",
  "summary": "These deceptive phrases turned to calligraphy are on display at a free public exhibition running until Nov 1 at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.",
  "key_points": [
    "Exhibition in Singapore showcases scam phrases as calligraphy",
    "$242 million lost in Singapore due to government official scams in 2025",
    "Maybank aims to educate public on scam warning signs"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}