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SINGAPORE: Calls by police officers to members of the public will soon bear a standard prefixed number as Singapore authorities clamp down on impersonation scams, Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming said on Friday (Feb 27).<\/p>\n
Messaging platform WhatsApp will also be made to implement tighter anti-scam measures to combat spoofing attempts, said Mr Goh.<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite the overall decrease in scam cases and losses last year, more Singaporeans fell prey to government officials impersonation scams,\u201d he said during the debate on the Ministry of Home Affairs\u2019 (MHA) budget for the year ahead.<\/p>\n
Annual statistics released by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) earlier this week showed that the number of scam cases in Singapore fell 27.6 per cent last year \u2013 the first time there has been a decrease since the SPF began reporting scam statistics separately in 2023.<\/p>\n
Mr Goh noted that government officials impersonation scams in 2025 more than doubled from the year before.<\/p>\n
It was among the top five most reported scam types in 2025, and also saw the highest average amount lost per case at more than S$72,000 (US$57,000), he added.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Mr Goh said that MHA will help people identify legitimate calls from government agencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe SPF is working with Open Government Product (OGP) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to introduce a single, easily recognisable prefixed number which all SPF officers will use to call members of the public,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
If a person receives a phone call from an unknown number, and the caller claims to be a police officer, it is likely a scam, he added.<\/p>\n
Mr Goh said that Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Jasmin Lau will be sharing more details about this new measure and its implementation across all government agencies.<\/p>\n
Mr Goh added that MHA will require online platforms to put in place more anti-scam measures moving forward, in response to questions from MP Wan Rizal (PAP-Jalan Besar).<\/p>\n
\u201cSimilar to Apple and Google, we will soon require WhatsApp to implement measures against the spoofing of \u2018gov.sg\u2019 and Singapore government agencies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n