Soon, We Might Be Able to Block All Overseas Calls

For those who don’t expect to receive overseas calls, receiving them can be annoying.

Imagine waiting for a call from your significant other, only for it to be a random caller from overseas.

More often than not, these calls belong to scammers, worsening an already annoying situation. 

Fortunately, there is some good news.

Mobile phone users may soon be able to bar all overseas calls as part of new anti-scam measures.

Mobile Phone Users May Soon be Able to Block Overseas Calls

Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo announced the news in an interview with Chinese news daily Lianhe Zaobao on 18 December 2023.

The interview centred on the Ministry of Communications and Information’s (MCI) digital priorities in 2024.

Mrs Teo, Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity, noted that when people see a caller with a “+65” prefix, they are usually aware that it isn’t a real, local call but a call coming from overseas.

While they usually won’t answer it, especially if they’re alert, it is still an annoying situation. 

In light of this, the authorities aim to make blocking all overseas calls an option for people who do not expect to receive calls from abroad.

Notably, phone calls are among the top three methods scammers use to contact victims, as reported by the police’s mid-2023 scams and cybercrime statistics.

Thus, this move cuts off an essential communication tool for scammers.

The police reported that scammers contacted victims through phone calls in 3,908 cases and via SMS in 920 cases.

Mrs Teo added, “Speaking as a person with an elderly parent, I find this feature useful because I can activate it for my parent’s mobile phone.”

She also noted that the new feature would help prevent vulnerable users from being tricked into picking up scam calls from overseas.

The new feature follows years of warnings to mobile phone users to be cautious of calls that begin with a “+65” prefix.

However, the move will not eliminate scams on communication services like WhatsApp.

New Task Force

With the rise in scams, a new task force has been commissioned to oversee matters of public confidence regarding Singapore’s digital services.

The task force is dubbed the Taskforce on Resilience and Security of Digital Infrastructure and Services.

It comprises of members from MCI, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the Smart Nation Group, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore and the Government Technology Agency.

The task force’s job scope includes reviewing security risks to Singapore’s digital services and the performance of vendors the authorities employ.

It is also responsible for recommending guidelines to improve the country’s cyber security for service providers and users.

According to Mrs Teo, the task force will look beyond critical information infrastructure like power plants and telecommunications services.

In addition, MCI is currently working with Google to find ways to improve anti-malware measures on Android devices.

Noting that more than 60% of the population uses Android phones, Mrs Teo said that the ministry is working with Google to see if Android phones can also serve as an “additional layer of prevention”. 

The Importance of Safeguarding Android Phones

Speaking to Channel News Asia in July 2023, the regional vice president for ASEAN of cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks, Mr Steven Scheurmann, noted that the Android system “allows for greater flexibility and customisation”.

Thus, Android phones are more susceptible to malware attacks because it is easier for scammers to create and distribute unauthorised apps.

Furthermore, Android users can download third-party apps from platforms other than the official Google Play Store.

According to the Singapore Police Force in September 2023, the first half of 2023 saw more than 750 cases of Android device users becoming victims of malware scams.

At least $10,000,000 was lost to scams, including over $218,000 in Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings.

The rise in scams targeting Android users prompted many public advisories by the authorities.

In August 2023, the police and Cyber Security Agency of Singapore issued a joint advisory highlighting Android malware scams.

According to the police, victims usually respond to advertisements on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram for services like home cleaning or pet grooming.

The scammers then send the victims a link on WhatsApp under the guise of asking them for payment.

The link will require victims to download an Android Package Kit (APK) file, an app created for Android’s operating system.

After this, scammers obtain the victims’ internet banking information or card details and carry out the scam. 

Malware attacks were a tool of choice for scammers in 2023.

According to the police, more than 1,400 victims fell prey to malware scams between January and August 2023.

Moreover, total losses amounted to at least $20,600,000.

Some Wins

Fortunately, the authorities have been working hard to roll out new measures to counter the surge of scams.

Besides the ability to block overseas calls soon, anti-scam measures in Singapore have seen some wins.

The ScamShield app, launched in late 2020, helps individuals filter out scam messages and calls from numbers used in unauthorised activities.

If the app determines that these numbers have been used for scams, they will be blocked.

According to Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling in November 2023, the app had flagged and blocked 80,000 unique scam phone numbers.

It has also flagged about 5,000,000 SMSes to users as potential scams. 

Telecommunications companies in Singapore have also blocked around 180,000,000 suspected scam calls in the first half of 2023.

Furthermore, more than 3,700 mobile lines believed to belong to scammers were flagged by the police to telcos for termination during the first six months of 2023.

What Banks Are Doing to Combat Scams

You’ve probably seen deepfake videos of Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Lawrence Wong promoting investment scams.

As scammers become more sophisticated in their tactics, it is crucial for the relevant authorities to up their game as well.

In May 2023, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan said that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) aims to strengthen the country’s defence against such scams.

Mr Tan reminded the public to “be suspicious of unsolicited messages or calls”.

Furthermore, if a customer suspects he has fallen prey to a scam, he should immediately alert the bank.

Alternatively, the customer could activate the kill switch provided by the bank to freeze his account.

Fraudulent activities should be reported to the police.