Authorities call for stronger safeguards to combat platform misuse.
Singapore’s Minister of State for Home Affairs, Sun Xueling, expressed grave concerns over the increasing use of Telegram for scams and criminal activities during her address at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2024 on 21 October.
Rising Scam Cases
In the first half of 2024, scams on Telegram surged by 137% compared to 2023. Common schemes include:
Investment scams: Promising high returns to deceive victims.
Job scams: Offering fake employment opportunities to extract personal and financial information.
Beyond scams, Telegram has been linked to large-scale illicit activities, including the sale of hacked data and malware, as highlighted in a recent United Nations report.
Anti-Scam Measures
To address the issue, Singapore has launched initiatives under the ScamShield Suite, including:
1799 Anti-Scam Helpline: Receives an average of 250 calls daily.
ScamShield App: Enhanced with AI to detect and alert users about scam threats on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
The app, first launched in 2020, has exceeded 1.1 million downloads.
Global Collaboration
The Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2024, held at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, brought together experts and stakeholders from law enforcement, government, and the private sector to address rising scam trends.
Senior Minister of State for Digital Development, Tan Kiat How, noted that scams not only harm individuals but also undermine trust in Asia’s growing digital economy.
Telegram’s Role
Telegram announced updates to its privacy policy, allowing the sharing of IP addresses and phone numbers of offending users when legally required. However, Ms. Sun criticized the platform’s response time, urging Telegram to implement stricter user verification and tighten controls over chat groups and channels.
Regional and Global Impact
The Asia Scam Report 2024 revealed that scams in Asia led to losses exceeding US$688.42 billion in the past year. Globally, scammers stole an estimated US$1.02 trillion between August 2022 and August 2023.
In Singapore alone, over $2.7 billion has been lost to scams since 2019, with $385.6 million recorded in the first half of 2024.
The Way Forward
Ms. Sun called for greater accountability from tech platforms, banks, and governments to protect consumers. Jorij Abraham, managing director of Gasa, emphasized the importance of infrastructural safeguards alongside awareness campaigns to combat evolving scam tactics.
