Phone scams are getting more creative, with 350 victims losing $4.6 million to phone cheats last year, according to police data obtained by The Straits Times.

The scammers seemed to have done much better this year, with takings for the first half of 2008 alone almost equal to what they made the whole of last year. Between January and June, 253 victims lost more than $4.3 million.

The lottery scam claimed the most victims. Scammers would tell the victims that he or she has won a prize in a lottery held overseas, and an 'advance payment' would have to be made in order to claim the winnings. A variation of the scam also has the cheat saying that the prize is a luxury car, and that an 'administrative fee' has to be paid before the vehicle can be collected.

About 180 people were ticked into remitting a total of $2.4 million to these foreign scammers, The Straits Times reported.

The offer of the 'prize' is now coming via text message instead of a phone call, the police told the English daily.

An SMS scam in which text messages impersonating officials fro Malaysian oil company Petronas struck two months ago. Those who received the message were told that they won a prize and were asked to call a number. Upon calling the number they were greeted by a man with an Indonesian accent and asked to disclose their bank account details.

Other scams include tricksters impersonating officials from the Supreme Court or the police, telling victims to make cash transfers to exonerate themselves.

'Kidnap' scams involving calls for help from supposedly kidnapped relatives and a demand for a payment for the person's safe release.