Responsible laws protecting S’poreans against online scams, instead of populism and moral hazards

05/11/2024

THE PAP government is working constantly to protect Singaporeans from online scams. The new Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF), set to begin on 16 December, is one major step forward.  

The SRF’s tiered “waterfall approach” holds financial institutions (FIs) first, then telcos, and after that consumers accountable for safeguarding against phishing scam losses.  

In other words, institutions and companies, if found negligent, will have to shoulder these losses in full. This negligence happens, for example, when telcos fail to block Sender ID SMSes that are not from authorised aggregators. Or when FIs do not have 12-hour cool-offs for performing “high-risk” activities when a digital security token activates.  

However, consumers still have the responsibility to protect themselves. Not giving away their personal or account credentials to anyone and only referring to official FI-provided sources for seemingly authorised transactions are important account user duties here.     

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) developed the SRF, taking care to properly consult businesses and the public on how we can fairly protect scam victims.  

The SRF is the latest in a series of measures the PAP government has put in to protect Singaporeans from scams, which include the Online Criminal Harms Act, Codes of Practices for social media platforms and marketplaces as well as the Singapore Police Force’s Anti-Scam Command. 

It is not just in Parliament that the PAP government is doing the hard work of combatting scams. Our MPs and Branch Chairs (BCs) are on the ground, rallying people and institutions together against scams. 

Elmie Nekmat: Safety & Security Day in Sengkang

Source: Elmie Nekmat / Facebook 

Sengkang Central BC Elmie Nekmat is well-versed about these digital threats. As Associate Professor in Communications and New Media at the National University of Singapore, he is at the forefront of research into misinformation and media scepticism.  

As a Principal Investigator for the Center for Trusted Internet and Community, he is using his research and expertise to help Singaporeans combat scams. 

He recently (6 Jul) spent a sunny Saturday in Sengkang leading a Safety Security Day for people at Esparina Residences. 

“There were scam awareness sharing by our friends from the SPF [Singapore Police Force] as well as CPR-AED demonstration by our friends from the SCDF [Singapore Civil Defence Force]. Family-friendly fringe activities kept the children busy and I had quite bit of fun joining them in the activities 😊,” he wrote

“Together, we can build a safer and more resilient community in Sengkang! 💪🏼” he added. 

Seah Kian Peng: The Scam Awareness Roadshow in Braddell 

Source: Seah Kian Peng / Facebook 

Over in Braddell Heights, MP Seah Kian Peng (Marine Parade GRC) spent this past Saturday (26 Oct) at the Serangoon Neighbourhood Police Centre Scam Awareness Roadshow.  

The Singapore Digital Office, National Crime Prevention Council, and Braddell Heights C2E partnered in this community event. 

“It was inspiring to see the community come together to combat scams and protect ourselves and our loved ones,” said MP Seah. “We learned about the latest scam tactics, heard valuable advice on safeguarding personal information, and explored ways to stay vigilant in our digital world.” 

“Let’s all take a simple but effective step — download the ScamShield app to filter out scam messages and block scam calls!” he added. 

Tan Wu Meng: Viligant against a new war

@tanwumeng

< Stopping scams: Shared responsibility & fighting the next war > “… Not just fighting the last scam war, but the next one. Because today we know there are deepfakes for voices, deepfakes for video calls. As the technology improves, we have to be ready for the next character of scams.” – 15 Feb 2022 I said this in Parliament over 2 years ago, amidst a debate on a new wave of phishing scams affecting bank customers. There’s since been lots of work by MAS and financial institutions, to make it harder for scammers to run off with Singaporeans’ life savings. But even as we fight old wars, we need to keep preparing for new ones. What was a bit speculative 2 years ago, is potentially mainstream not too long from now. In a Wired article [https://www.wired.com/story/openai-voice-engine-artificial-intelligence-release/] it was mentioned that OpenAI can re-create human voices based on a 15-second segment of recorded audio — but won’t release the tech yet. But what happens when voice technology grows more commoditised, with generative models able to run in realtime, on a mobile device, to re-encode a speaker’s voice into the clone of someone else’s? So our frameworks for allocating risk and responsibility need to be agile and adaptive. This is why I’d also spoken about the concepts of “forced errors” and “unforced errors” when someone gets scammed — because the policies, incentives and regulatory responses can be quite different depending on the context. You can watch my #Parliament discussion with MOS @Alvin Tan in this video. Video credit: Mediacorp #scam #safety #singaporetiktok #sgtiktok #tiktoksg #fyp #fypシ #fypシ゚viral

♬ original sound – Tan Wu Meng – Tan Wu Meng

Source: Tan Wu Meng / TikTok 

AI-augmented scams have been in the news this past year. Significantly, 13 per cent of scams analysed by the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) were AI-generated, especially with deepfakes of trusted voices.  

MP Tan Wu Meng’s (Jurong GRC) repeated advocacy in Parliament on behalf of his Clementi residents, then, is well-suited for these times — and for the future. 

“Even as we fight old wars, we need to keep preparing for new ones,” he said when the PAP Government unveiled an initial draft of the SRF in April. 

“What happens when voice technology grows more commoditised, with generative models able to run in realtime, on a mobile device, to re-encode a speaker’s voice into the clone of someone else’s?” he asked 

“So our frameworks for allocating risk and responsibility need to be agile and adaptive,” MP Tan added.  “When someone gets scammed, the policies, incentives and regulatory responses can be quite different depending on the context.” 

Questions in the vein of MP Tan’s helped the Government refine the SRF. This is even while personal efforts by other PAP leaders like MP Seah and BC Elmie are making sure that the digital safety message gets passed on around the neighbourhood.  

This is our commitment to Singaporeans. Instead of laws that sound good to people but deliver bad outcomes, we look towards sound fundamentals, and targeted laws that accomplish the hard work of balancing responsibility, accountability and empathy.