Global Anti-Scam Summit Singapore – Speech by Mr Goh Pei Ming, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs & Ministry of Social and Family Development

A very good morning,

Mr Jorij Abraham, Managing Director Global Anti-Scam Alliance,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies & Gentlemen,

1. Let me first thank the Global Anti-Scam Alliance and the GASA Singapore Chapter for organising this Summit, and for the opportunity to share about Singapore’s anti-scam efforts.

The Impact of Scams

2. It is a little bit pressurising because I know today is supposed to be solutions day, so the promise is you will hear all the solutions, and I will only be able to share what Singapore is trying to do. But by no means, are we satisfied with the outcomes yet, but it is a first step. Scams remain a key global concern. GASA estimates total global scam losses to be more than 1 trillion US dollars a year – This is large enough to be in the top twenty largest economies in the world if you compare with GDP.

3. It has become so prevalent that most of us will know someone, whether a loved one or friend, who would have been scammed. In 2024 alone, in Singapore, about 1 in 120 were scammed. This is just within one year. And if you go by that statistic and extrapolate it – within this room, there may very well be one, two or three individuals who have been a direct victim.

4. The detrimental impact of scams is clear.

(a) Scams undermine trust in digitalisation and the digital economy. For the digital economy to continue to grow, businesses and individuals must be able to transact online with confidence.

(b) Scams also leave a deep psychological scar. The betrayal of trust by scammers can cause long-lasting effects like withdrawal from society and in extreme cases, lead to self-harm.

(c) Beyond the impact on the individual, scams also affect the scam victim’s immediate family members and the community and circle around him or her.

(d) In one incident in Singapore, one love scam case involving a 64-year-old female victim, the victim was so convinced that the scammer was going to marry her, that she continued to transfer money to the scammer despite repeated advice from the Police as well as her own family.

(e) This caused significant distress to all the loves ones around her and trust was broken. The victim ended up losing more than 400,000 Singapore dollars.

Scam Situation in Singapore

5. For Singapore, the war on scams remains a top national priority.

6. Singapore is a very attractive scam target.

(a) The median wealth of adults in Singapore is higher than the global median, making us a lucrative target.

(b) Our high levels of digital penetration and access to the Internet allow scammers to very easily reach out to potential victims.

(c) And also, because Singapore is also a high trust society. And this makes it easier for scammers to succeed in their deception, especially if they impersonate trusted entities from the government.

7. Dealing with a threat as insidious as scams requires a whole-of-society approach. Within Singapore, our anti-scam strategy comprises four pillars.

8. First , we prevent and block scams pre-emptively.

9. Over the past year, the Police has observed a shift from traditional modes of contact, such as SMS, towards online platforms.

(a) In the first half of 2025, scammers used online platforms to approach victims in 82% of the cases.

10. We have worked closely with the online platforms to strengthen our scam disruption efforts, using legislative levers from the Online Criminal Harms Act and the Police have disrupted more than 21,000 online monikers and advertisements in the first half of this year alone.

11. Of particular concern is Government Official Impersonation Scams (or GOIS in short).

(a) In the first half of this year, GOIS cases increased by about 200%, compared to the same period in 2024, to more than 1,760 cases.

(b) Losses also increased by about 90% to about 126 million Singapore dollars.

(c) So, in other words, on average, each GOIS scam results in a loss of about 72,000 Singapore dollars and that is a staggering amount. For some victims, this could be their life savings, and fundamentally cripple their life plans.

12. The Government will enhance measures against such scams.

(a) I would like to highlight the implementation directive that Police will be issuing to Meta. This will require Meta to put in place measures to address scam advertisements, accounts, profiles and business pages impersonating key Government officials on Facebook.

(b) This will be the Government’s first use of the implementation directive. Failure to comply may result in stiff penalties of up to 1 million Singapore dollars in fines.

(c) We are issuing it to Meta because Facebook is the top platform used by scammers for such impersonation scams, and the Police has assessed that more decisive action is required to curb these scams.

(d) We will continue to work closely with Meta to fight GOIS as part of the wider effort of ongoing collaboration with MHA and the Police on other anti-scam initiatives.

13. We will also continue to review the adequacy of the anti-scam requirements imposed on online platforms.

(a) For example, we have observed that the number of scam cases on TikTok has increased by 240% in 2024 compared to 2023.

(b) Police have designated TikTok as a designated online service with effect from 1 September 2025. TikTok will now need to comply with the Online Communication Services Code of Practice by 28 February 2026.

(c) This will require TikTok to put in place the appropriate systems, processes and measures to proactively disrupt scams affecting our citizens.

14. Second pillar , we encourage the reporting and detection of scams.

15. We launched the enhanced ScamShield application in August last year. The application has more than 1.3 million downloads as of today.

(a) The improved app allows users to check suspicious messages, calls and websites that they come across on third-party platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram.

(b) It also encourages more people to submit potential scams that they have received and improves the app’s overall ability to protect our users from scams.

(c) Since the introduction of the enhancements, users have submitted more than 230,000 WhatsApp messages and calls and 15,000 Telegram messages and calls for verification.

16. We have also invested heavily in artificial intelligence and machine learning to scale up and expedite our scam intervention capabilities.

(a) For example, we introduced an AI-powered classifier to analyse, detect and disrupt malicious scam websites.

(b) This reduces the need to manually sieve through copious amounts of information, allowing swifter intervention to take down scam websites.

17. Third , we take firm action against scammers and recover scam proceeds.

18. In the first half of 2025, more than 3,500 money mules and scammers were investigated, of whom more than 500 have been charged by the Police.

19. Stiff penalties now apply to money mules and Singpass mules after we introduced sentencing guidelines recommending custodial sentences for such offenders. These are individuals who handover their bank accounts or Singpass accounts to scammers.

(a) Of the 230 money mules that we charged between August 2024 and March 2025, all adult offenders were sentenced to at least 6 months imprisonment.

(b) So, the message from the Government is clear – if you enable scams, even indirectly, you will be taken to task, and you will face the full force of the law. And this is done to protect our citizens.

20. Fourth , public education.

21. A vigilant public is the best defence against scams. In 2023, we launched the Add, Check and Tell (or ACT) campaign. This encourages the public to:

(a) Implement safety features to protect themselves from scams;

(b) Check suspicious messages by calling the ScamShield helpline, checking the ScamShield website, or using the ScamShield application; and

(c) Telling a friend or loved one about scams to spread the message and prevent them from falling prey to scams.

22. We have also worked closely with partners to tailor public education content for different target audiences.

(a) For example, the Hack for Good programme led by the Open Government Products team developed ‘Unpacked’, a realistic simulated scam experience that mirrors how scams unfold step by step.

(b) Through an interactive storytelling approach, users experience deception firsthand, helping them to recognise manipulation techniques, and to take steps to better protect themselves against scams.

23. And these efforts and more have helped us to make some progress to curb scams.

(a) In the first half of 2025, we saw a decrease in scam numbers by 26% compared to the same period last year. Scam losses also decreased by 13%.

(b) It shows that with sufficient determination and effort, we can pushback against the scammers.

(c) But scammers will continue to pivot, they will continue to evade our measures because they are constantly finding new techniques, new ways, new loopholes to exploit.

(d) And so too, must we as a community, continue to pivot, think ahead, and act pre-emptively to stop scams from materialising.

(e) Government, the private sector and the public must all work together hand-in-glove.

24. I will outline two key areas crucial to strengthen our defences against scams – international collaboration and proactive industry-led action.

International Collaboration

25. Beyond domestic initiatives, international support and collaboration amongst all parties is a cornerstone to our overall fight on scams.

26. Singapore is committed to work with our international counterparts to fight scams.

(a) In the first half of 2025, the Police worked with foreign law enforcement counterparts to takedown eight transnational scam syndicates.

(b) Singapore started Project FRONTIER+ in October last year , which links up the anti-scam outfits from different countries to share real-time information and coordinate joint operations. This improves cross border asset recovery and reduces the profitability of the scam business.

(c) Between May and June 2025, this year, Project FRONTIER+ jurisdictions conducted a major cross border operation to freeze more than 32,000 bank accounts and recovered about 26 million Singapore dollars.

27. So, we urge countries to set up their own central anti-scam outfits, for dedicated attention to fight the scams scourge.

(a) Singapore’s experience in our Anti-Scam Command has been very effective. We think it is useful because it helps us take timely action to coordinate with industry partners, freeze bank accounts and telco lines, and seize scam-tainted proceeds.

(b) But the full value of setting up anti-scam outfits will only be able to materialise if we can coordinate efficiently across borders. Because in most scam cases, such as in the case of Singapore, most of the monies leave the country within seconds of the scam taking place.

Industry-led Counter-scam Actions

28. Beyond government-led initiatives, private entities such as financial institutions, telecommunication companies and online platforms also play a crucial role in helping to deny scammers of the tools they require for their trade.

29. We have seen the tremendous impact that private entities have made and can make through proactive and collaborative efforts.

30. One example is the ‘Stop Scams UK’ initiative in the United Kingdom, involving collaboration between the major banks, telcos, and technology giants to combat fraud.

(a) Under this initiative, members share technology, data, and intelligence indicators to remove fraudsters from their platforms.

31. Closer to home, here, the Association of Banks Standing Committee on Fraud comprising of the major banks in Singapore proactively coordinates the implementation of anti-scam safeguards to protect our banking customers.

(a) Through this platform, banks share best practices and provides industry-level guidance on the implementation of anti-scam measures.

32. I am heartened to hear the efforts and progress of anti-scam initiatives championed by the private entities at this Summit.

(a) One such initiative that we heard a lot over the past few days and earlier today, is the Global Signal Exchange led by GASA. The GSE strengthens our collective ability to detect and deny scam actors by allowing participating entities to pool together intelligence and act at speed and scale.

(b) As Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How shared yesterday, GovTech will be joining the GSE to contribute and tap on the information shared. Under this partnership, GovTech will send scam signals, such as scam-tainted websites, through the GSE to strengthen our detection and disruption efforts.  I hope this will also encourage many more parties, governments to come onboard.

Conclusion

33. Let me conclude.

34. Scammers these days run a highly professional and sophisticated criminal enterprise.

35. They grow in line with their profits and are incentivised to find the fastest, most effective and most innovative ways to scheme and steal from our people, without regard for the suffering of their victims.

36. As scam defenders, we must change their calculus, and we must similarly find the fastest, most effective and most innovative ways to counter their advances.

37. And we can only do so by relentlessly and proactively pursuing strong collaborations within and between governments and the private sector. Conferences such as the Global Anti-Scam Summit allow us to exchange ideas and best practices, and collectively reaffirm our resolve to fight against the scams scourge.

38. I wish you a productive second day, and look forward to hearing your ideas to counter scams together. Thank you.