Singapore police have issued their first implementation directive to an online platform under the Online Criminal Harms Act (Ocha), requiring tech giant Meta to take stronger action against scams. The move, announced on 3 September by Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming, marks the first time the law, which came into effect in February 2024, has been enforced in this way.
Meta, which owns Facebook, must introduce stricter measures to tackle scam advertisements, fake accounts, and business pages impersonating government officials. Failure to comply could result in fines of up to S$1 million. Mr Goh announced during his speech at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2025 at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The directive follows a surge in government official impersonation scams, which have nearly tripled year-on-year. Police statistics released on 30 August show 1,762 cases reported in the first half of 2025, up from 589 in the same period of 2024. Victims lost S$126.5 million during the first six months of this year, a 90 per cent rise from S$67.2 million in early 2024.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and former defence minister Ng Eng Hen have been frequent targets of these scams. In March, Mr Wong publicly warned citizens about deepfake advertisements and fraudulent schemes using his likeness to promote cryptocurrency and permanent residency services.
Mr Goh said, “The police have assessed that more decisive action is required to curb such scams,” adding that the Government will work closely with Meta to strengthen anti-scam measures.
Meta responds as scam concerns grow
A Meta spokesperson said the company does not permit impersonation or deceptive advertising on its platforms. “It’s against our policies to impersonate or run ads that deceptively use public figures to try to scam people, and we remove these when detected,” she said.
Meta has invested in facial recognition technology to protect public figures, with product management director Maxime Prades revealing at the summit that nearly 500,000 public figures worldwide are covered by this system. The company also runs scam education campaigns, offers tools for users to report suspicious activity, and employs trained review teams to spot and remove fraudulent content.
However, Meta has faced repeated criticism from Singaporean authorities for its handling of scams. In February 2024, then Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling accused the company of refusing to implement stronger safeguards. Meta expressed disappointment at her remarks but said it was reviewing the Ministry of Home Affairs’ proposals.
Facebook Marketplace has been ranked the least safe platform in Singapore’s E-commerce Marketplace Transaction Safety Ratings for four consecutive years, including the latest rankings released on 30 August.
TikTok has been added as a designated online service
In a related announcement, Mr Goh said TikTok has been designated as an online service under Ocha from 1 September. The platform must meet the Code of Practice for Online Communication Services by 28 February 2026. This includes implementing anti-scam measures or facing possible fines of up to S$1 million.
TikTok scam cases rose by 240 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023. A company spokesperson welcomed the Government’s efforts and stated, “We are committed to doing our part by continuing to strengthen our in-app protections, while also investing in education and awareness to help the community stay ahead of scam tactics and avoid fraud.” TikTok removed over 173,000 fraudulent videos in Singapore last year.
Both TikTok and Meta are members of the Global Signal Exchange, an international network that shares intelligence on scams, which Singapore’s Government Technology Agency has also joined.
Despite the rising threat of scams on specific platforms, Mr Goh noted an overall drop in scam cases and losses in the first half of 2025. Scam victims lost S$456.4 million between January and June, down from S$522.4 million during the same period in 2024. “It shows that with sufficient determination and effort, we can push back against the scammers,” he said.
