Singapore proposes ASEAN-first mechanism to trace scam calls across borders
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Singapore is proposing the region’s first system to trace the source of scam calls or SMS messages across Asean nations.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Follow topic:
- Singapore has proposed an ASEAN-wide mechanism to trace the origin of scam calls and SMS, requiring international cooperation.
- The traceback mechanism follows suspicious calls/messages through telecom networks using call detail records to identify the source.
- Enhanced guidelines for submarine cable resilience was also endorsed at the Asean meeting.
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SINGAPORE – Singapore has mooted the region’s first mechanism that allows countries in the 11-member ASEAN to trace the origin of a scam call or SMS.
Such a framework will help South-east Asian countries better tackle scams at the point they originate, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo.
As scammers attempt to hide behind spoofed numbers or across multiple networks, traceback mechanisms work by following a suspicious call or message backwards through multiple telecommunications networks. This can be done using call detail records, which are data logs containing information such as the routing path and network identifiers.
“This traceback mechanism that we have proposed requires international cooperation, because it clearly doesn’t concern only the networks in Singapore. It concerns networks in other jurisdictions,” Mrs Teo said in a wrap-up interview on Jan 16 after the sixth ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting held in Hanoi.
She added that Singapore will be keen to share information if a scam text or call originates from the Republic, and hopes its regional counterparts can reciprocate.
“The more we are able to trace it back, the more we will be able to identify ways to address the problem at (the) source.”
Singapore will follow up with other ASEAN member states on the proposal to gauge their reactions, Mrs Teo said.
The traceback mechanism is one of the recommendations in the ASEAN Guide on Anti-Scam Policies and Best Practices, one of two regional cooperation frameworks that were endorsed at the meeting. The other concerns the maintenance of submarine cables.
According to the anti-scam guide, a traceback system begins at the terminating telco, which delivers the call to the victim and possesses the records to start tracing. The records are passed on to the previous relevant telco until the original subscriber or SIM card that initiated the scam call or text is identified.
For the traceback mechanism to work, all telcos involved in the transmission of a scam call or SMS need to be involved.
“This is critical because each provider possesses only the records linking the call or SMS to their immediate upstream provider,” the guide states.
In response to further queries, the Infocomm Media Development Authority said: “With more countries in the network, cross-border tracebacks will be more effective.”
Benefits of the mechanism include being able to refine techniques to block scammers as the authorities better understand their methods, and the collection of evidence to assist enforcement action.
The US, Australia and New Zealand have similar frameworks domestically and may reach out to overseas partners for international tracing assistance.
In the US, which the guide said has one of the most comprehensive processes globally for scam call tracebacks, the system is run by an industry-led consortium called the Industry Traceback Group. All US-based telco providers are required to cooperate with traceback requests within 24 hours.
The system has allowed the regulator, the US Federal Communications Commission, to nab a telemarketer responsible for more than five billion illegal robocalls.
The Enhanced ASEAN Guidelines for Strengthening Resilience and Repair of Submarine Cables were also adopted at the ministers’ meeting. This is an update to the 2019 guidelines and includes international best practices that ASEAN countries can adopt to better protect and maintain submarine cables, which carry 99 per cent of international internet traffic.
There are recommendations on streamlining approval processes, establishing single points of contact, and enhancing protection through better coordination.
“Given their transboundary nature, disruptions in one country can affect other countries along the same network, underscoring the need for regional alignment on strong protection, maintenance and repair measures,” said the Ministry of Digital Development and Information.
