Singapore – YouTube announced at the second iteration of the ‘Creators for Impact’ programme that local YouTuber Naomi Neo has been selected to work with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on a film intended to raise awareness against scams. 

Neo’s idea of using humour to highlight how vulnerable people are to scams. It was noteworthy for its ability to convey important lessons in an entertaining way. She will collaborate with Minister of State Sun Xueling on this specialised content in order to provide readers with even more insightful advice on how to avoid falling victim to internet scams.

As part of the program’s efforts to increase consumer knowledge on scam prevention, a collection of anti-scam videos created by local YouTube creators were shown at the event, which was attended by Sun Xueling, Minister of State for the Ministries of home affairs and social and family development.

The Creators for Impact programme, which was supported by the Ministry of Communications and Information and launched in July 2023 in partnership with MHA, focuses on solving the critical problem of scams in Singapore. The reported number of scam cases increased by 64.5% to 22,339 cases in the first half of 2023, compared to 13,576 cases during the same period last year, according to the Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) Mid-Year Scams and Cybercrime Brief.

Over the course of two months, Creators for Impact worked with 12 local creative channels in support of the national anti-scam programme, “I Can ACT Against Scams,” to develop videos that were intended to raise public awareness and vigilance against scammers. These films include first-hand narratives from scam victims given via podcasts, analysis of the tactics used by con artists from The Astute Parent, and concrete actions people can take to stay alert and protect their families and themselves against scams.

YouTube and MHA launched an open appeal to the larger local YouTube creator community as part of Creators for Impact. The goal is to get more ideas for videos that can improve Singaporeans’ awareness of online scams and their level of participation with it. 

Speaking about the initiative, Ajay Vidyasagar, managing director for YouTube Southeast Asia and Emerging Market, said, “Impactful content always has a home on YouTube as we strive to help people stay informed about important issues in society. Our creators know best that knowledge is key to combating online scams, and through their strong responses to the program, we continue to be inspired by their creativity and commitment to impart important know-hows in engaging ways. This is testament to the resolve of our local creator community to use their voice for good through storytelling, and we hope more will join this effort to build a more secure digital world for all Singaporeans.”

Meanwhile, Sun Xueling, Minister of State at Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development, said, “Scams continue to be a key concern in Singapore. With progress in technology, scam operations can easily be scaled up via online means. Scammers are also becoming more adept at using technology to cover their tracks. The Government cannot fight scams alone – we need the community to step up and take actionable steps to prevent scams in Singapore. I am heartened to see our content creators stepping up to this important task of engaging different segments of the population to amplify anti-scam messages within their communities. This partnership with Google underscores the Government’s unwavering commitment to combat scams, through cultivating a vigilant and discerning public capable of ACT-ing against scams.”

Singapore – Around 3 out of 4 Singaporeans have said that they are now more confident in recognising scam calls and SMS than they were 12 months ago. This is according to the latest data from cloud communications and customer experience (CX) software company Toku.

An overwhelming 91% of respondents believe that organisations are making an effort to educate the public about scams, empowering them with the knowledge to identify and thwart scams effectively.

An example of a government initiative that made a noticeable impact is the SMS Sender ID Registry (SSIR). In early 2023, the SSIR made it mandatory for organisations to register their brand names with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore to verify their identity when they use SMS.

According to data, 87% of Singapore consumers said the SSIR has made it easier to identify the legitimacy of the SMS they receive. 63% also noted that the SSIR has resulted in them receiving less spam or scam messages.

Thomas Laboulle, founder and CEO at Toku, said, “Over the past 12 months, consumers in Singapore have shown a clear shift in their awareness of scams and a rise in their confidence in dealing with them. his has had an impact on the levels of trust they have for the communication channels they use, leading to changing preferences and behaviour in how they interact with brands.”

Despite scam SMS still being prevalent, around 73% remarked that they are more confident in recognising them. Less than a quarter of consumers clicked on URLs in these messages over the past 12 months, and only 13% encountered monetary loss as a result.

The same confidence is also reflected when it comes to scam calls. Around 75% expressed confidence in their ability to identify scam calls, and the number of consumers who picked up a scam call in the past 12 months fell by 19%.

Despite being digital natives, more than a third (36%) of millennials willingly click on suspicious SMS links even if they’re marked “Likely-SCAM” – the highest proportion amongst all the age groups. In contrast, only 8% of those aged 18-24 and 13% of those aged 45-54 are likely to click on these suspicious SMS links.

Labouelle added, “This result may be surprising, but it’s in fact in line with numbers from the Singapore Police Force. Data released by the police in September 2023 showed that those aged 20 to 39 were the most likely to be cheated in scams, making up more than 50% of all victims.”

The data also uncovered how many Singaporean consumers have clear preferred channels for communication from brands. For instance, SMS remains highly preferred by Singapore consumers for OTPs (79%), bank alerts (76%), and appointment reminders (72%). At the same time, WhatsApp gained popularity for marketing messages (47%) and order updates (55%). 

Meanwhile, approximately 3 in 4 consumers are inclined to contact an agent over the phone when confronted with urgent matters pertaining to payment or finance. Similarly, 2 in 3 will reach out to a phone support agent to resolve issues associated with products and service faults.

“Our research shows that Singapore consumers have varying levels of trust and preferences for different channels and types of communication. Organisations should pay attention to these preferences to meet customers where they want,” Laboulle said.

He added, “The rise of generative AI gives companies an unprecedented opportunity to reinforce consumer trust and build more personalised customer experience. AI can take over repetitive and tedious tasks while empowering human agents with the right information and context to further improve their customer service.”

Singapore – TikTok has recently announced the launch of the ‘Scam Prevention Edition’ of its Digital Wellness Hub with the goal of providing users with the resources and knowledge to navigate the digital world safely. 

Introduced in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), and the Singapore Police Force (SPF), this initiative aligns with TikTok’s dedication to creating a reliable and secure digital environment for its platform users.

With the Scam Prevention Edition, TikTok will contribute to local scam education and reinforce MHA’s anti-scam ACT (Add, Check, Tell) framework to translate anti-scam awareness into actions. 

This endeavor merges education and entertainment to facilitate engagement with users of all ages on the platform. TikTok will deploy educational messages on scam prevention through various initiatives such as raising awareness through scam identification and prevention challenges as well as a  ‘Shop Safe’ tab that allows users to access educational videos on identifying scams and how to shop safely.

Teresa Tan, head of public policy at TikTok Southeast Asia and Singapore, said, “TikTok has a zero-tolerance approach to any form of scam-related content on our platform. We have implemented policies to guard against scams and take strict enforcement action upon detection. Through the Scam Prevention Edition of the Hub, we hope to strengthen the resources available and build understanding within the community on how it takes a joint effort to keep our platform safe.”

Meanwhile, Gerald Singham, chairman of the Singaporean National Crime Prevention Council, commented, “We are excited to be part of the Scam Prevention Edition of TikTok’s Digital Wellness Hub, which provides useful scam prevention resources to help Singapore residents protect themselves against scams. Through this partnership, we hope to not only raise awareness but also encourage more individuals to take ACTions against scams.”

These efforts are an extension of educational resources available on the Digital Wellness Hub, which was launched in 2022 and anchors all of TikTok’s initiatives around mental wellbeing, cyber wellness, user safety and more.