Effectiveness of Scam Prevention Measures and Whether Further Measures Will Be Taken

Question:

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether the measures that have been put in place to prevent and deter scams have been effective; and (b) whether any further measures will be taken in view of the $456.4 million lost to scams in the first half of 2025; and (c) if so, what are they.

Answer:

Mr K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs:

1. The Member may refer to the Mid-Year Scam and Cybercrime Brief 2025 for the recently implemented and upcoming anti-scam initiatives.

2. The number of scam cases and losses would be much higher if not for the many measures we have taken over the years. In fact, in the first half of this year, scam numbers decreased by about 26% and scam losses decreased by 13% compared to the same period in 2024.

3. That said, we know that the scammers will pivot to evade our measures, and the numbers may go up again. It is a never ending tussle.

4. That is why the ultimate defence we can put up is an alert and discerning public. Then no matter what the scammers try, the public is less likely to fall for it. Unfortunately, in the first half of this year, about 79% of scams involved self-effected transfers, where the victim was manipulated into transferring their monies to the scammer. These are preventable. We strongly urge Singaporeans to check if the approach to them for money is a scam by calling 1799, before taking any steps to respond.