Singapore has issued a strong warning to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, over the rising number of impersonation scams on the platform. Authorities have directed Meta to roll out stricter anti-scam measures, including possible use of advanced verification tools such as facial recognition.
Under the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA), the government has given Meta until the end of September to comply. Failure to do so could lead to fines of up to S$1 million, along with additional daily penalties of S$100,000 for continued breaches. Officials say scam accounts have increasingly been used to impersonate government agencies and public figures, tricking victims into financial losses.
Earlier this year, Meta was also ordered to remove posts by foreign individuals that were seen as attempts to influence Singapore’s upcoming general elections. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said these actions were necessary to curb foreign interference and protect public trust.
The move highlights Singapore’s tough stance on online safety and election integrity, placing more pressure on tech giants to take direct responsibility for harmful content circulating on their platforms.
The Ministry of Home Affairs in Singapore said:
“Fraudsters are primarily using Facebook as their main platform to carry out such scams. Preventing these crimes, protecting the public, and maintaining trust in public institutions are top priorities for our government.While Meta has been taking steps globally to tackle impersonation scams, the high number of such cases in Singapore remains a concern. This is precisely why the government has issued this directive to Meta,” the ministry emphasized.
