Rise in criminal activity and scams on Telegram worrying: Sun Xueling

SINGAPORE – Scams and other criminal activity on Telegram are extremely concerning, with scammers adding unsuspecting victims to chat groups to cheat them.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling said this on Oct 21 at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2024 at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.

She said scammers have pivoted to online platforms, with Telegram emerging as a platform of concern.

“Specifically, we have observed that scammers are creating and adding unsuspecting victims into channels and chat groups on Telegram, and deceiving them into parting with their monies,” she added.

In the first half of 2024, the number of scam cases reported on Telegram spiked by 137 per cent, compared with the same period in 2023.

Common scam types perpetrated on Telegram include investment scams and job scams.

Ms Sun added that criminal activities on Telegram are not limited to scams.

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A recent report by the United Nations found that criminal networks and syndicates used Telegram extensively to conduct large-scale illicit activities.

Ms Sun said: “These include the sale of hacked data, including credit card details and passwords, as well as data-stealing malware on Telegram channels. This is extremely concerning.”

The UN report was among the latest allegations to be levied against the app since France charged Telegram boss Pavel Durov with allowing criminal activity on the platform.

The summit is organised by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (Gasa) and ends on Oct 22.

The event brings together law enforcement, government representatives and those from the banking and private sectors to discuss how to tackle the latest scam trends.

In her opening speech, Ms Sun said the recently launched 1799 anti-scam helpline has been receiving an average of 250 calls daily.

The helpline is part of the ScamShield Suite, which consolidated anti-scam measures and was launched in September.

The ScamShield app, which was launched in November 2020, has also been enhanced and has had more than 1.1 million downloads so far, said Ms Sun.

The app uses artificial intelligence to identify and alert users to potential scam threats on WhatsApp, Telegram and weblinks.

Ms Sun said Telegram recently announced that it would be updating its privacy policy to share IP addresses and phone numbers of errant users with the authorities when legal orders are issued.

She said that while this was a good effort, enforcement is often too late as victims would have already lost their money to scammers by the time Telegram shares this information with the authorities.

She urged Telegram to strengthen its user verification measures and tighten the usage of chat groups and channels, to prevent victims from being contacted by scammers.

In her speech, Ms Sun thanked Meta for its anti-scam efforts, saying the Singapore Government was working with it to put in place user verification processes against government-issued records.

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Meta has also installed verification processes for selected Facebook users, and is exploring measures on WhatsApp to stop unwanted contact where possible.

Ms Sun said the Singapore authorities have reached an understanding with Meta to step up measures on its platforms in a gradual manner.

During a fireside chat session at the summit, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How, who is also the patron of the Gasa Singapore Chapter, said the impact of scams has been wide-ranging, affecting both individuals and entire economies.

He said scam victims turn up at his Meet-the-People Sessions every week asking for help.

“Not one week goes by without us seeing a scam victim showing up and talking about the challenges they face and their losses,” said Mr Tan, an MP for East Coast GRC.

He said the growing digital economy in Asia is also being held back because of scams and a lack of trust, with people finding it difficult to trust the information they receive and the transactions they want to make.

Gasa’s Asia Scam Report 2024 found that in Asia, more than US$688.42 billion (S$904 billion) was lost to scams in the past year.

The study surveyed almost 25,000 people across 13 populations in the region, including about 1,100 people from Singapore.

A previous study conducted by Gasa with data service provider ScamAdviser found that scammers stole an estimated US$1.02 trillion globally between August 2022 and August 2023.

This is compared with US$55.3 billion lost for the whole of 2021, and US$47.8 billion lost in 2020.

In Singapore, more than $2.7 billion has been lost to scams since 2019, with victims losing a record of more than $385.6 million in the first half of 2024.

Mr Jorij Abraham, the managing director of Gasa, said Singapore has been doing well in its anti-scam efforts, such as through campaigns.

But while awareness is important, he said it may result in people becoming complacent.

He said a study by The Hague University of Applied Sciences found that a person is not less likely to fall for a scam just because he is aware of them.

He added: “And the reason – and that’s a hypothesis they are now researching further – is that the more aware you are of scams, the more confident you become. The more confident you become, the more risks you take.

“I do believe in scam awareness, I think it’s always good. But it’s going to get more difficult to recognise scams, and we’re going to need governments, telcos and banks to take responsibility to protect consumers on an infrastructural level.”

ALSO READ: Stolen Singaporean digital identities sold on Dark Web from $8, huge spike in such data being offered for sale, says cybersecurity firm

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.