Singapore is putting its biggest messaging, social media and e-commerce platforms on notice: stopping scams is no longer just a matter of taking down bad actors after users have been hit.
The Singapore Police Force said it has issued new and updated Codes of Practice for designated online services, requiring platforms to take stronger steps to detect, disrupt and prevent scams targeting users in the city-state. The rules cover online messaging and conferencing services, social media platforms, and e-commerce services, and must be complied with by January 31, 2027.
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The move reflects a shift in how regulators across Southeast Asia are dealing with online harm. Scam activity is no longer confined to obscure websites or cold calls. It has moved into the apps people use daily to message family, join investment groups, shop for second-hand goods, and follow creators. That makes platform design — who can contact whom, how ads are approved, and how accounts are verified — a frontline issue in public safety.
“These COPs strengthen our safeguards against scams by requiring providers of designated online services to put in place measures to proactively disrupt scams and malicious cyber activities affecting people in Singapore,” SPF said.
The new framework includes a fresh Code of Practice for Online Messaging and Conferencing Services, a new Code of Practice for Social Media Services that replaces the existing Code for Online Communication Services, and an enhanced Code for E-Commerce Services.
Messaging apps come under sharper scrutiny
The new Messaging Code will apply to WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat, Apple iMessage, Apple FaceTime, Google Message and Google Meet, services assessed as posing the highest scam risk to users in Singapore.
SPF said online messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram accounted for about 23 per cent of total scam cases in 2025. Investment scams are a particular concern. In many cases, scammers approach victims through accounts previously unknown to them, offering attractive investment products that later turn out to be fraudulent.
To reduce this risk, messaging platforms will have to make it harder for unknown contacts to reach or manipulate users. This includes requiring a user’s consent before an unknown contact can add them to a chat group or channel.
Platforms will also need to display contextual warnings or risk indicators when users receive messages or calls from unknown or suspicious accounts. For instance, a service may have to show the account creation date and country of origin of an unknown or suspicious account, giving users more information before they decide whether to respond.
Users must also be given tools to silence, filter or block messages or calls from accounts or telephone numbers that are not in their contact list.
These interventions may appear small, but they address a common weakness in scam journeys: the first point of contact. Many victims are pulled into fraudulent schemes through unsolicited chats, then gradually moved into private groups where scammers use social proof, fake testimonials and pressure tactics to build trust.
The Messaging Code also targets Government Officials Impersonation Scams, where criminals pose as police officers or other public officials. SPF said about 18 per cent of such cases in 2025 took place on WhatsApp, while other services such as Google Meet have also been used in phishing scams involving impersonation of police officers.
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To counter this, platforms will be required to prevent the spoofing of the Singapore Government through profile names or pictures.
Social media advertising becomes a regulatory focus
The new Social Media Code will apply to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. According to SPF, social media platforms accounted for about 30 per cent of total scam cases in 2025, with Facebook alone making up about 18 per cent.
A central concern is advertising. Scam operators often use paid ads to reach victims quickly, directing them to fake investment schemes, phishing pages or fraudulent sales listings. The problem is not unique to Singapore. Across Southeast Asia, regulators and consumer protection agencies have struggled with scam ads that can be launched, altered and removed faster than traditional enforcement processes can respond.
SPF was direct about where responsibility lies. “Social Media platforms profit from the publication of advertisements and must ensure that the content in the advertisement is not in furtherance of a crime,” it said.
Under the new code, platforms must prevent the publication of any advertisement accessible to Singapore users if there is reason to suspect that it furthers a scam. This includes assessing whether an ad uses URL cloaking, a tactic where the visible link hides the actual destination website, or whether it contains other suspicious content.
Platforms must also promptly remove suspected scam advertisements accessible to Singapore users, including those reported by users. In addition, they will have to verify advertisers’ identities against government-issued records before allowing them to target Singapore users.
Financial services ads will face stricter checks. Platforms must disallow advertisements offering financial services or products to Singapore users unless the advertisers are licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore or another applicable Singapore authority.
This provision is especially significant in a region where retail investing, crypto speculation and digital wealth products have expanded quickly. The same tools that help legitimate fintech firms acquire customers cheaply can also be used by fraudsters to scale deception.
E-commerce rules tighten around accounts and ads
Singapore is also strengthening its E-Commerce Code, which applies to designated platforms including Carousell, Facebook Marketplace and Facebook Business Pages.
The enhanced code builds on existing requirements for seller verification and payment protection. Platforms will now have to introduce stronger consent measures before permitting logins from new or unrecognised devices. This is aimed at reducing account takeovers, where scammers hijack trusted accounts to deceive buyers or sellers.
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The updated e-commerce rules also adopt safeguards from the Social Media Code to protect users from scam advertisements. That matters because the boundaries between social media and commerce have become increasingly blurred. A user may see a product in a Facebook ad, message a seller, pay through a third-party channel, and only later realise the listing was fraudulent.
For marketplaces, the challenge is balancing convenience with trust. Too much friction can hurt legitimate sellers and buyers. Too little gives scammers room to operate at scale.
Penalties give the rules sharper teeth
The government is also moving to strengthen the penalty framework under the Online Criminal Harms Act. The Ministry of Home Affairs proposed legislative amendments in Parliament in August 2026 to give regulators stronger enforcement powers.
Under the proposed framework, for each instance of non-compliance with a Code of Practice or Implementation Directive, the OCHA Office may issue a financial penalty of up to SGD 10 million (~US$7.83 million) or direct the online platform to rectify the breach through a Rectification Notice or Compliance Order.
Failure to comply without reasonable excuse would be a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of up to US$7.83 million. For a continuing offence, the platform may face a further fine of up to about SGD300,000 (US$235,000) for every day, or part of a day, during which the offence continues after conviction.
The financial stakes are high, but the broader message is more important: Singapore wants platforms to design against scams before harm occurs, not merely respond after reports pile up.
SPF said the new measures build on Codes of Practice introduced in June 2024 and reflect the government’s continued partnership with industry. It noted that scam cases reported on designated online services fell by about 37 per cent between 2024 and 2025.
That decline suggests earlier measures may be having an effect. But the latest rules also show that Singapore expects the scam threat to keep evolving. For platforms operating across Southeast Asia, the city-state’s approach could become a reference point — tighter advertiser verification, more friction around unknown contacts, and clearer accountability when online services become channels for fraud.
For users, the changes may eventually mean more warnings, more verification steps and fewer unsolicited invitations. For platforms, they signal a tougher regulatory era in which trust and safety are no longer peripheral functions, but part of the licence to operate.
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