SINGAPORE – Singapore is among 11 countries that endorsed a statement released at the inaugural Global Fraud Summit pledging stronger collaboration between countries in the fight against fraud.

This is the first time a ministerial-level summit was convened for fraud, and it took place in London on March 11 and 12.

Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo represented Singapore at the event.

Mrs Teo, who is also Minister for Communications and Information, said the summit shows there are considerable challenges in combating fraud – which is often a transnational crime – and highlights the need for countries to come together.

The statement, which was endorsed by countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and Australia, includes a commitment by the nations to find new ways to improve asset recovery, to strengthen international coordination in cracking down on criminal networks, and to facilitate information sharing across borders.

Speaking to the Singapore media from London via a Zoom call on March 13, Mrs Teo said officials exchanged ideas with one another, and Singapore was recognised for its anti-fraud efforts.

“Many countries were impressed that banks sat next to the police in our Anti-Scam Command and worked together in real time to freeze bank accounts and recover monies.

“They hope to have a similar capability and set-up.”

She said other countries were also interested in Singapore’s SMS Sender ID Registry, adding that the initiative has been critical in bringing down phishing scam cases in Singapore by labelling potential scam messages as “likely scam”.

On cross-border collaboration to pursue fraudsters and recover funds, Mrs Teo said Interpol has established a directory with points of contact for law enforcement agencies to liaise with their foreign counterparts.

She added that international benchmarks, such as on response time and the kind of information countries can provide one another, help put everyone on the same page.

In her speech at the summit, the minister said Singapore is concerned about three types of fraud-related activities, namely scams, ransomware and money laundering.

She said that in 2023, scam losses in Singapore did not spike further for the first time in five years. Likewise, she noted, there was a reprieve in ransomware cases last year.

“While losses due to scams and ransomware are still considerable, the upward trends have hopefully been arrested and give us room to push back further,” she added.  

Scam victims in Singapore lost $651.8 million in 2023, a slight dip from the $660.7 million lost to scammers in 2022.

However, the number of scam cases was a record high, jumping 46.8 per cent from 31,728 cases in 2022 to 46,563 cases in 2023.

Mrs Teo noted that the most prevalent scam types worldwide are also common in Singapore, such as investment scams, e-commerce scams and love scams.

These scam types featured in Singapore’s top 10 scams in 2023, with investment scams defrauding victims of the most money, at $204.5 million last year.

Ransomware – a cyber-security attack that locks up important data or digital services until a ransom is paid – fell by 4 per cent from 137 cases in 2021 to 132 in 2022.

To tackle scams, Singapore has clamped down on money mules and those who sell their Singpass credentials, said Mrs Teo at the summit.

She added that from April, the authorities will go after those who abuse SIM cards for scams.

The minister also highlighted the $3 billion money laundering case in Singapore, the largest such case here, which saw 10 foreigners arrested in August 2023.

She said that after the case came to light, Singapore established an inter-ministerial committee to review its anti-money laundering regime.

Mrs Teo said more international cooperation and public-private partnerships are needed, as technology has helped fraudsters move farther and faster.

She urged industry players, such as banks, telcos and social media platforms, to step up and adopt stronger safeguards.

“They have more resources, intelligence collected and tools that we can muster. Equally, they should bear more responsibilities,” she said.

For social media and e-commerce sites, she said it is necessary for platforms to validate the identity of users who want to sell items on digital marketplaces.

While Shopee now verifies seller identities against government-issued documentation, such verifications are absent on Facebook Marketplace and optional on Carousell.

Mrs Teo also encouraged other countries to proactively share information such as emerging threats, best practices and innovation efforts.

She said: “Collectively, we stand a better chance of winning these tough battles.”