Anti-scam bot and monitoring service to detect spoofed govt websites among new digital tools
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The ScamShield bot for WhatsApp was among the announcements made in Parliament on Feb 24, 2023.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
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SINGAPORE - A new scam-detecting bot will be rolled out on WhatsApp later this year to allow the public to check if something they have received on the messaging platform is a scam.
Developed by Open Government Products (OGP), ScamShield Bot for WhatsApp works through crowdsourced reports and police blacklisted contacts and links. It prompts users to upload screenshots or copy and paste suspicious links into the chatbot for checks.
The bot is a spin-off of the ScamShield app, which filters scam calls and messages.
Since 2022, ScamShield has blocked some 200,000 scam calls and detected at least 3.5 million scam messages.
ScamShield Bot was among the announcements made in a debate on individual ministries’ budgets on Friday. The debate covered anti-scam measures, healthcare schemes and environmental innovation.
Announcing the bot, Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo said: “To use digital tools with confidence, our citizens must be able to trust that they are safe. With ever-evolving cyber security threats, this has become a tall order.”
“We are investing efforts to build stronger defences to safeguard people from scams and online harm,” added Mrs Teo, who is also Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity.
She was responding to Mr Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC), who raised concerns about scams. He also asked how many attacks the Government had detected and stopped in 2022, and what has been done to strengthen digital systems here.
A newly launched centre to respond to cyberthreats faced by national agencies will be able to detect malicious sites posing as government agency webpages. It is among the first projects helmed by the new Government Cyber Security Operations Centre, in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Many phishing sites have been posing as government channels. These include spoofed Singpass pages
The centre replaces the Cyber-Watch Centre, which was established in 2007 to monitor cyberthreats to the Government’s digital systems.
Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo (in brown) visiting the Government Cyber Security Operations Centre.
PHOTO: SMART NATION AND DIGITAL GOVERNMENT GROUP
HPV vaccination e-appointments
Meanwhile, Singaporeans will be able to make a booking for any nationally recommended vaccine online on the Health Appointment System,
The e-appointment system, which was repurposed from the Covid-19 vaccination system and rolled out in August 2022, will allow booking for all vaccinations under the National Adult Immunisation Schedule by April, and those under the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule by June.
The updated service streamlines the process of booking an appointment to get a listed vaccine so that it can be done online with all providers listed clearly. These vaccines are recommended to protect Singaporeans against diseases like tuberculosis and hepatitis B.
The inclusion of the vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV) adds to a list of subsidised vaccines, including influenza and pneumococcal jabs, that can be booked under the appointment system. The system is helmed by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) and OGP.
HPV is a common virus and vaccination against it reduces one’s chance of a severe infection,
Those holding blue or orange Community Health Assist Scheme cards will be fully funded as part of an agreement with the Temasek Foundation,
The expanded service allows users to book their appointments for subsidised HPV jabs at more than 700 participating clinics, OGP and HPB said in a statement.
Close to 40,000 flu and pneumococcal vaccination appointments have been made on the Health Appointment System in the four months since its launch, they added.
