Internet-enabled scams and AI pose challenges, Shanmugam says at MHA scholarship event

SINGAPORE – The number of scam cases and the amount of money lost went down in 2025, but Senior Minister K. Shanmugam warned of rising internet-enabled scams and the powerful threat of artificial intelligence.

Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, was speaking on Aug 18 to parents, teachers and scholarship recipients at The Singapore Police Force (SPF) Scholarship and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Scholarships Award Ceremony.

“Last year, for the first time, we saw a drop in the number of scam cases and the total amount that was lost to scams.

“But it’s really too early to tell. We don’t know which way it’s going because technology is changing, and in the context of the internet, we now face a very new and powerful threat, AI,” he said at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

To the 40 recipients of the scholarships, including Charlene Tan, SPF’s first female President’s Scholar, Shanmugam said the work that the Home Team and the scholars will be doing demands good moral judgment, experience, empathy and courage.

“That is why the scholarship schemes remain vital for the Home Team to continue to do well. So we have to attract and develop the very best minds, and we require our scholarship recipients to demonstrate not only academic excellence but also leadership and, most importantly, a deep commitment to public service,” he said.

The five scholarships awarded were The SPF Scholarship, the Public Service Commission Scholarship, the MHA Uniformed Scholarship, the MHA Civilian Scholarship, and the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) Scholarship.

Nathanael Alexander Kusuma, 19, who was awarded an HTX scholarship, said the catalyst for his interest in cybersecurity was falling for a phishing scam in secondary school.

Someone posing as his primary school friend got him to disclose personal information. Kusuma still does not know the stranger’s identity or intentions.

Kusuma, who is doing his national service and has not decided on his course of study, said: “I wanted to go into (cybersecurity) to have an impact on public safety, and basically work to ensure that everyone’s data on the internet is kept safe.”

In 2025, total scam losses fell to $913.1 million from a record $1.1 billion in 2024, according to annual police statistics. Total reported scam cases also dropped by more than 27 per cent to 37,308 cases.

There have been too many stories of people losing their entire life savings to scammers, said Shanmugam, who showed guests videos of political office-holders who seemed to be speaking to victims.

Deepfakes and misinformation enabled by AI resulted in one victim’s loss of $4.9 million after he thought he was speaking to Singapore government officials.

Raynen Ngoh, 20, is an SPF scholarship recipient who wants to help such vulnerable people. His determination to serve in the police force was the result of an attachment to Jurong Police Division two years ago as part of his national service.

“One common thing I saw that spoke to me was the fact that officers interact with some of the most vulnerable people, those at the lowest points in their lives, whether an accused or a victim,” said the inspector of police, who will be studying international social and public policy with politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

“The job itself and the nature of being able to interact with people inspired me.”

While challenges lie ahead, Shanmugam said MHA agencies are themselves leveraging AI to fight and detect crimes.

He cited the Central Narcotics Bureau’s use of AI to streamline investigative work and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority’s deployment of facial recognition for immigration clearance.

The SPF has launched its Cyber Command, which has a Digital Disruption Centre that identifies and removes online threats.

The wrongful use of AI was also involved in the self-radicalisation of two youths – one used an AI chatbot to pledge his allegiance to ISIS, while the other used it for research on producing ammunition and 3D-printing of firearms.

Both teens were detained under the Internal Security Act.

Singapore’s strong laws make it easier to go after culprits in AI- and internet-enabled offences, Shanmugam said.

These laws include the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act, Racial Harmony Act and Foreign Influence (Countermeasures) Act, which give the Government powers to move in quickly and stop the harm before it becomes worse.

Shanmugam said: “We have targeted this with a number of laws so that the legal framework is strong, peculiar to Singapore, because most of the countries that are facing these threats are not in a position to put in place the right legal framework.”