Sun Xueling on effectiveness of ScamShield in preventing scams
The ScamShield app has been effective in protecting users from scam calls and SMS messages, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling. As of October 2023, there have been about 750,000 downloads of the iOS and Android versions of the app. Since March 2022, about 80,000 unique scam-tainted phone numbers have been blacklisted and blocked by ScamShield, and about five million SMSes have been flagged to users as potential scams. Ms Sun, who gave this update in reply to MPs’ questions in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 22), said police work closely with the telcos to block mobile lines suspected to be involved in scams. In the first half of 2023, more than 3,700 mobile lines which were believed to be used in scams were flagged by the police for termination, while the telcos blocked about 180 million suspected scam calls at the network level. Ms Sun said ScamShield serves as an additional layer of defence and it has a reporting function that allows users to alert the authorities about scam calls and messages. It also complements the Government's efforts to combat scams. In the first half of 2023, more than 10,000 WhatsApp lines and 1,500 online monikers and advertisements that were believed to be used in scams were flagged by the police for termination. The Online Criminal Harms Act, which will be operationalised progressively from the first quarter of 2024, will allow the police to tackle online scam activities more effectively, said Ms Sun. Major retail banks have introduced anti-malware security features on their banking apps to protect customers. On its part, GovTech is enhancing the ScamShield app.
The ScamShield app has been effective in protecting users from scam calls and SMS messages, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling. As of October 2023, there have been about 750,000 downloads of the iOS and Android versions of the app. Since March 2022, about 80,000 unique scam-tainted phone numbers have been blacklisted and blocked by ScamShield, and about five million SMSes have been flagged to users as potential scams. Ms Sun, who gave this update in reply to MPs’ questions in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 22), said police work closely with the telcos to block mobile lines suspected to be involved in scams. In the first half of 2023, more than 3,700 mobile lines which were believed to be used in scams were flagged by the police for termination, while the telcos blocked about 180 million suspected scam calls at the network level. Ms Sun said ScamShield serves as an additional layer of defence and it has a reporting function that allows users to alert the authorities about scam calls and messages. It also complements the Government's efforts to combat scams. In the first half of 2023, more than 10,000 WhatsApp lines and 1,500 online monikers and advertisements that were believed to be used in scams were flagged by the police for termination. The Online Criminal Harms Act, which will be operationalised progressively from the first quarter of 2024, will allow the police to tackle online scam activities more effectively, said Ms Sun. Major retail banks have introduced anti-malware security features on their banking apps to protect customers. On its part, GovTech is enhancing the ScamShield app.
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