While cyber scams are not a new phenomenon, they are getting increasingly harder to trace. Online criminals now pose as government officials, putting on a myriad of facades to fool even the most vigilant. It could be the seemingly harmless warning by “Singpass” alerting you about an expired account, a great bargain on Facebook, or even friendly recruiter “Rosa” who is eager to hire you for a job. Other relatively new digital scams include hacking into your bank account through third-party apps on your phone.
Cyber criminals have stolen more than $334 million in the first half of 2023, with a precipitous increase in reported scam-related cases, according to a report in The Straits Times.
Thankfully, ScamShield, an artificial intelligence technology, promises a solution to this growing problem.
What is ScamShield?
Building on the intuitiveness of automated programmes on WhatsApp and Telegram, and working alongside the Singapore Police Force and National Crime Prevention Council, ScamShield introduces a bot that reviews, verifies and affirms scam reports using an incredibly comprehensive library of crowdsourced and machine-learning data.
Scams typically rely on effective ploys that will trigger a reaction by the victim. ScamShield alleviates this by providing users with a concrete conclusion to make an informed judgement.
How does it work?
Take this scenario: John has come across a Facebook post by Thomas promising branded clothes at staggeringly low prices. John seeks out the seller via WhatsApp, where he receives a link as a response. Thomas claims that the link will direct him to the clothing site, but John remains skeptical of the link’s integrity.
Step 1: He opens up ScamShield’s WhatsApp Bot at https://go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot.
Step 2: John copies the text message, or forward Thomas’ dubious response, to the bot.
Step 3: The bot immediately does a thorough and authoritative scrutiny of the report. It will indicate if others have also previously reported Thomas’ mobile number as a scam, and assesses if the link is indeed from a suspicious source.
Step 4: John, now aware of the invalidity of the offer, ignores the link. His case will further enrich the system’s existing database, protecting users against fraudsters.
John’s scenario is not unique, with Scam Alert acknowledging e-commerce schemes as one of the most prevalent scam tactics. This is in addition to fake personas, with some going as far as posing as a Ministry of Manpower officer.
Share your story, for the benefit of others.
ScamShield’s strength lies not in its existing database but in the community that continues to actively contribute to it. Share your own scam encounters, so that others can avoid the array of blind spots and pitfalls in the online space. It’s only by working together that we can keep our communities safe, and our digital world safer. You can find ScamShield’s bot at https://go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot. To learn more about real online scam encounters, you can visit Scam Alert at https://www.scamalert.sg/stories.