Singapore has ordered Meta to tighten its grip on scams, warning that Fb may face million-dollar fines if fraudulent accounts and impersonation advertisements proceed unchecked.

The police will concern an implementation directive below the On-line Felony Harms Act (OCHA), the primary time Singapore is utilizing this energy.

It requires Meta to place in place measures to handle rip-off ads, accounts, profiles and enterprise pages that impersonate key authorities officers on Fb. Non compliance might end in fines of as much as S$1 million.

Minister of State for House Affairs and Social and Household Improvement Goh Pei Ming mentioned Fb is the highest platform utilized in such impersonation scams.

Circumstances rose by about 200 p.c within the first half of 2025 to greater than 1,760, with losses up about 90 p.c to round S$126 million, averaging roughly S$72,000 per case.

He added that Singapore is a beautiful goal for scammers due to its excessive median wealth, widespread digital penetration and status as a high-trust society.

These elements make impersonation makes an attempt extra convincing when scammers pose as authorities officers.

Authorities mentioned on-line platforms at the moment are the first vector for scammers, utilized in 82 p.c of circumstances within the first half of 2025.

Police disrupted greater than 21,000 on-line monikers and ads over the identical interval.

TikTok has been designated a delegated on-line service with impact from 1 September 2025 and should adjust to the On-line Communication Companies Code of Observe by 28 February 2026.

AI Instruments, Jail Phrases and Joint Raids Drive Anti-Rip-off Push

Officers additionally highlighted instruments such because the ScamShield app, which has greater than 1.3 million downloads, and using synthetic intelligence to detect and take down malicious web sites.

Total rip-off circumstances fell 26 p.c within the first half of 2025, with complete losses down 13 p.c.

Past prevention, Singapore has additionally stepped up enforcement. Greater than 500 scammers and cash mules had been charged within the first half of this yr.

Of the 230 cash mules prosecuted between August 2024 and March 2025, all grownup offenders acquired at the very least six months in jail.

Goh mentioned scams stay a world downside and known as for stronger worldwide cooperation and higher involvement from non-public platforms to disrupt fraud networks.

He cited Challenge FRONTIER+, a joint cross-border operation that froze greater than 32,000 financial institution accounts and recovered about S$26 million between Might and June this yr.

Police information confirmed Singaporeans misplaced about S$456 million to scams within the first half of 2025, round S$66 million lower than a yr earlier.

Featured picture: Edited by Fintech Information Singapore, primarily based on picture by Meta