The free showcase, hosted at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Centre for Lifelong Education until Nov. 1, pairs deceptive Mandarin and English hooks with the monetary devastation they inflicted on victims. Recent data shows that eight in 10 scam targets are socially engineered into transferring money directly, making psychological awareness critical. Police reports confirm that impersonation and investment ploys ranked among the top fraud categories in 2025. This visual intervention seeks to break the pattern of compliance by making manipulative language immediately recognizable.
Key points
Fraud schemes in Singapore have successfully siphoned over $4 billion from victims since…: Fraud schemes in Singapore have successfully siphoned over $4 billion from victims since 2019.
The vast majority of recent scam victims were tricked through social engineering into vol…: The vast majority of recent scam victims were tricked through social engineering into voluntarily sending money.
The exhibition utilizes calligraphy to expose the manipulative phrasing behind the nation…: The exhibition utilizes calligraphy to expose the manipulative phrasing behind the nation's most damaging financial scams.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
- Maybank’s free exhibition, The Most Expensive Words, uses calligraphy to show common scam phrases and warn people about red flags. It runs until Nov 1 at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
- The display links phrases like “Your bank seeks your assistance” and “High returns, zero risk” to major scam losses in 2025. Government official impersonation scams lost over $242 million, and investment scams lost over $336 million.
- Singapore has lost more than $4 billion to scams since 2019. Maybank said it hopes that by putting these words on the wall and attaching their real-world cost, people will recognise the warning signs before making a transfer.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – From a distance, the ink strokes in black resemble calligraphy but a few steps closer and it becomes clear it is the phrase “Your bank seeks your assistance”.
Next to the phrase, in smaller characters, is the figure $242 million. That is the amount lost in Singapore in 2025 to government official impersonation scams, where the phrase is commonly used in the ruse.
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