SINGAPORE \u2013 Even before scammers can send messages with links to fake websites, two out of three such websites are already being taken down.<\/p>\n
By identifying hundreds of these websites daily, the police aim to stop scams before they can even reach potential victims here.<\/p>\n
But scammers and cybercriminals have continued to evolve<\/span><\/a>, ramping up their schemes using new technologies such as artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n To stay ahead, the police set up the new Cyber Command on July 3, bringing together all their anti-scam and cybercrime capabilities under one roof.<\/p>\n A key initiative by the unit is the National Scams List,<\/span><\/a> which includes the identities, bank accounts, phone lines and online accounts linked to scammers that the police share with banks.<\/p>\n This has helped pre-empt scams, preventing victims from being cheated.<\/p>\n Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Justin Wong, commander of Cyber Command, said that for every tainted bank account the police shared with the banks during a limited trial, the police were able to identify at least one more that might be related to scams.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cAs a result, the banks were able to take down the bank account before it could be used to scam more victims.\u201d<\/p>\n Wong added that the new unit is not a typical one, but will take the fight to the syndicates by working with overseas partners and other stakeholders such as banks to identify cybercriminals.<\/p>\n Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming first announced the setting up of the command<\/span><\/a> at the Anti-Scam Conference 2026 in May.<\/p>\n He said then that it would be a front-line unit with about 200 officers, and that this would eventually double to more than 400 officers.<\/p>\n The Digital Disruption Centre will also fall under the command.<\/p>\n Deputy Assistant Commissioner Gregory Kang, the deputy commander of Cyber Command, said the centre will look for and remove online threats.<\/p>\n In addition to scams, ransomware and malware attacks, the centre will also be on the lookout for content that is racially or religiously charged, he added.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Kang said that with cryptocurrency being increasingly exploited by cybercriminals and scammers, the command will allow the police to grow their team of cryptocurrency-tracing specialists.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cWe are seeing an increase in the proportion of scam losses being laundered through cryptocurrency instead of fiat transactions, and this is of concern to us.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are all aware that the cryptocurrency space is actually quite a fast-developing one… That\u2019s another key area of focus (for the new unit).\u201d<\/p>\n The command will also establish a Cyber Operations Centre that will act as the centre of its operations, running around the clock to fight scams and cybercriminals.<\/p>\n The existing Anti-Scam Centre will sit within the Cyber Operations Centre.<\/p>\n Scams started to become a major concern around 2019, when Singapore saw around 9,500 cases reported and victims lose more than $170 million.<\/p>\n That year, the police set up the Anti-Scam Centre to handle scam-related investigations. It was able to claw back more than $21.2 million within its first year.<\/p>\n When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, many people became isolated and fell prey to scammers, causing a surge in scams.<\/p>\n In 2021, there were more than 23,000 cases reported and $632 million lost.<\/p>\n The police set up the Anti-Scam Division that year, consolidating all scam-fighting resources under the Commercial Affairs Department.<\/p>\n In 2022, the police set up the Anti-Scam Command, bringing together all scam-fighting units across the Singapore Police Force.<\/p>\n But the scam scourge persisted, with all-time highs of more than 51,000 cases and $1.1 billion in losses reported in 2024.<\/p>\n Despite a dip in 2025, scams continue to be a significant concern, having cost victims more than $4 billion since 2019.<\/p>\n As at June 2026, there have been more than 13,900 scam cases reported,<\/span><\/a> with victims losing over $275.2 million.<\/p>\n