Police to Issue Meta First Online Harms Order in Singapore to Fight Scams

If US tech giant fails to implement sufficient measures, it can be fined up to $1 million

- Christine Tan

For the first time, the police will issue an order to an online platform to tackle the scam scourge in Singapore, with possible fines of up to $1 million.

In a tougher show of force, the implementation directive to tech company Meta, which runs Facebook, is meant to fight scams, including government official impersonation scams.

The company will have to implement measures to address scam advertisements, accounts, profiles and business pages impersonating key government office-holders on Facebook.

If Meta fails to comply, it can be fined up to $1 million.

This is the first implementation directive issued to an online service provider in Singapore under the Online Criminal Harms Act (Ocha) since the law came into force in February 2024.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming announced this on Sept 3 during his remarks at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2025, held at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Mr Goh said the tougher measure was implemented because Facebook is the top platform used by scammers to impersonate key government office-holders.

He added: "The police have assessed that more decisive action is required to curb such scams."

Police mid-year statistics released on Aug 30 showed government official impersonation scams have almost tripled, with 1,762 cases reported in the first half of 2025 compared with 589 over the same period in 2024.

Victims lost $126.5 million in the first six months of 2025, a nearly 90 per cent increase from $67.2 million in the first half of 2024.