Singapore Directs Apple, Google to Combat Government Impersonation Scams

The Singapore Police Force has mandated both Apple and Google to implement measures aimed at preventing government impersonation scam messages on their platforms. This directive, issued on November 24, 2023, targets the fraudulent spoofing of “gov.sg” SMS sender IDs and the names of government agencies, as confirmed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

This action comes in response to a significant rise in scams where cybercriminals pose as government officials to deceive the public. Spoofing involves disguising communications to appear as if they come from a trusted source, making it a popular tactic among scammers.

In their press release, the MHA outlined specific measures that Apple and Google must undertake. These include preventing accounts and group chats from displaying names that impersonate “gov.sg” or any government agency. Additionally, the companies are required to filter messages from accounts that attempt to spoof these names. The MHA also emphasized the importance of ensuring that profile names of unknown senders are either not displayed or presented less prominently than their phone numbers.

“These steps will help users better identify and be cautious of unknown senders,” the MHA stated. The implementation of these directives is mandated under the Online Criminal Harms Act, and both companies are required to comply by December 3, 2023.

Both Apple and Google have indicated their willingness to adhere to these directives. The MHA further advised the public to regularly update their iMessage and Google Messages applications to ensure that the latest anti-spoofing safeguards are in place.

The urgency of this directive is underscored by police statistics showing that reported cases of government impersonation scams nearly tripled during the first half of 2025, skyrocketing by 199.2 percent to reach 1,762 cases, up from 589 in the same timeframe the previous year. These scams resulted in losses totaling approximately S$126.5 million, making them the second-most financially damaging type of scam during this period. Notably, government impersonation scams comprised about 28 percent of all scam cases and accounted for 34 percent of total scam losses in the first half of the year.

To combat these scams, Singaporean government agencies have been utilizing the “gov.sg” sender ID for SMS communications to help recipients easily identify legitimate government messages. The MHA pointed out that while these safeguards apply to SMS, they do not extend to messages sent via iMessage and Google Messages.

The lack of a “gov.sg” sender ID in these messaging services has led to confusion among users, who may mistakenly believe that messages from accounts falsely claiming to represent “gov.sg” are genuine. The police have already recorded over 120 cases involving the impersonation of various SSIR-registered SMS sender IDs on these platforms, including more than 120 instances related to SingPost.

“The need for measures to deter the abuse of iMessage and Google Messages by scammers has become evident,” the MHA stated. The Online Criminal Harms Act, enacted in July 2023, empowers authorities to issue directives to online service providers to implement necessary systems or measures to address relevant offences.

Failure to comply with these directives could result in fines of up to S$1 million (approximately US$770,000). If the violation continues after conviction, companies may face additional fines of S$100,000 for every day the offence persists.

Previously, the Singapore government has also directed Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to implement measures such as facial recognition technology to combat impersonation scams on its platform. As the threat of government impersonation scams continues to rise, authorities are intensifying efforts to safeguard the public from falling victim to these deceptive practices.