Forum: Customers must be vigilant even as Singtel fights scam calls

We thank Dr Thomas Lee Hock Seng for this feedback (Telcos have a part to play in stopping scam calls, Sept 3).

The "scam calls" he refers to are illegal robocalls and spoof calls commonly made over the Internet.

Unfortunately, such scam calls impact consumers all over the world and blocking calls altogether may inadvertently result in legitimate calls being blocked as well.

To protect the interests of our customers and also ensure that customer experience is not affected, Singtel has implemented solutions to alert customers and minimise the risk of them accepting scam calls.

These include a proprietary fraud management system that uses call and data analytics to pinpoint and block scam calls, reducing the instances of such calls.

Also, since April, Singtel has been working with the Government to add a "+" prefix to international incoming calls that are spoofed to look like local numbers, making scam calls easier to identify.

To raise awareness about scam calls and encourage customers to stay vigilant, we have a scam advisory on our website warning them of known scam call variants.

We also launched several campaigns to encourage customers to protect themselves by hanging up on unsolicited calls and not to share their personal information with unknown callers.

Candy Chua,
Vice-President, Consumer Operations,
Consumer Singapore,
Singtel

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.