” International cooperation is a critical , part of Singapore’s strategy to combat scams, and we are committed to doing our part – both domestically and on the global phase”, Mrs Teo said, according to a media release from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
With the help of other countries, Singapore was able to take down 19 transnational scam syndicates last year, she noted.
The Singapore Police Force reported earlier this year that these transnational syndicates were to blame for more than 730 scams and over 110 arrests.
Singapore and Malaysia have previously agreed to combat scams across telecommunications channels. Singapore and Australia also ratified a pact in 2022 to stop spam and scams.
Mrs Teo also said , more than 19, 600 bank accounts were frozen in Singapore last year.
More than S$ 100 million in scam losses were recovered, and banks and the police collaborate to track down funds and freeze scam-tainted accounts.
There were a record 46, 563 scam cases in Singapore last year. Jobs scams were the most popular scams that people fell for, followed by e-commerce and fake friend call scams. Victims lost a total of S$ 651.8 million, slightly less than the year before.
According to Mrs. Teo, phishing scams are still prevalent in other parts of the world, and some nations were interested in Singapore’s SMS Sender ID Registry, which requires businesses to register their sender IDs.  ,
The , Singapore Network Information Centre, states that messages sent from sender IDs that are not registered will be marked as” Likely- SCAM.”
Because many of those scams were carried out via SMSes, the registry has been instrumental in reducing phishing scam numbers in Singapore, said Mrs. Teo. She continued,” Other countries are eager to implement a similar system in their countries.”