SINGAPORE: Singapore has issued Meta a deadline of September 30 to take decisive action against a rising wave of scammers impersonating government officials on its platforms.
According to the city-state’s government, Meta’s Facebook is the primary platform used by fraudsters conducting these scams, which have resulted in victims losing tens of millions of dollars.
The Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed that police issued a formal directive requiring Meta “to put in place measures to target scam advertisements, accounts, profiles, and/or business pages impersonating key Government Office Holders on Facebook” by the specified date.
Failure to comply “without reasonable excuse would render Meta liable on conviction to a fine” of up to S$1 million.
Non-compliance after the deadline will subject Meta to an additional fine of up to S$100,000 “for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction”.
Authorities noted a significant increase in scammers on Facebook impersonating government officials through fake advertisements, accounts, profiles, and business pages between June 2024 and June 2025.
The ministry acknowledged that Meta had taken some steps to address impersonation scams globally, including in Singapore, but expressed concern that these fraudulent activities have persisted.
This marks the first time Singaporean police have used powers under the Online Criminal Harms Act, passed last year, to order an online platform to tackle the escalating scam problem.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming revealed this month that scams involving government official impersonation surged by 200 percent in the first half of this year compared to the previous year, exceeding 1,760 cases.
In one prominent example, scammers used deepfakes and images of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong earlier this year to promote fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes.
Financial losses from impersonation scams increased by approximately 90 percent to S$126 million during the first half of 2025.
Meta had not issued an immediate response to the directive, though the company stated earlier this month its opposition to ads that deceptively use public figures to scam people. – AFP
