Singapore is yet another country facing scam issues, much like Thailand in the past. The Singaporean government has implemented various measures to combat these issues, such as online withdrawal blocking systems, collaboration with Google to block scam apps in the Play Store, and creating a nationwide database of SMS senders.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) plays a significant role in combating scams, with the establishment of the Anti-Scam Command (ASComm) in 2022. ASComm collaborates with the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) to develop systems like PhishMonSG to detect fake websites. This system has evolved into the Scam Analytics and Tactical Intervention System (SATIS), capable of identifying fake websites posing as government entities, banks, or hosting malware.
SATIS operates by utilizing crawlers to constantly search for websites, similar to a search engine. It then analyzes the risks of whether a website is fake and takes steps to shut down or block it, such as sharing data with Google Safe Browsing to alert users of familiar fake websites. GovTech reported that they have blocked or alerted about 16,000 fake websites in the past.
However, the Singapore police warn that scamming techniques are constantly evolving. For instance, after Singapore established the national SMS sender database successfully, scammers shifted from sending links via SMS to chat apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, as well as social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Despite the changing landscape of scamming techniques, the ultimate goals remain the same – tricking victims into revealing their bank account login details or deceiving them into transferring money themselves.
Source: CNA
TLDR: Singapore is tackling scam issues with measures like the Anti-Scam Command collaborating with GovTech to develop systems like SATIS to detect and block fake websites. Scammers are adapting by shifting to chat apps and social media platforms for their fraudulent activities.
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