Overall crime dip but rise in online scams, molestations

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Useful Stats:
1) Internet love scams from Jan-Jun 2017 costing Singapore victims S$22million!!!
2) Love scam: 'the largest amount cheated in a single case in the first half of this year was close to $6 million'.

Useful evaluation material and Singapore features:
1) online crimes are "particularly challenging" due to the borderless nature of the Internet. They noted a "significant proportion" of online commercial crimes are committed remotely by foreign syndicates...

2) The rise in Internet love scams and e-mail impersonation cases is due to the widespread use of the Internet, social media and smartphones...

3) "Due to our low crime rate, we are less likely to suspect that a... criminal activity is taking place," he said of the reasons Singaporeans may be predisposed to such scams. "We also tend to trust... the authorities, and are more easily taken in when a scammer pretends to be one."

Given that internet crime is often committed by criminals located outside the country and thus beyond the reach of the law, deterrence though punishment may be futile in curbing such crime. No matter how severe the punishment is, there will be no deterrent effect on the part of the criminals if they are confident that they will not be apprehended. Rather than focussing the attention on the criminal, perhaps a better way to rein in the crime is to focus the solution on the potential victims via public education to create awareness among the public, equipping them with the skills to avoid succumbing to such online scams..... 

Qns:
1. ‘Despite our rapid technological advancements, we have not improved our lives.’ Do you agree? (CJC Prelim 2016)

2. 'Punishment is the best way to reduce crime.' Discuss.