ScamShield helpline ops centre moves to Certis in Bedok as daily calls surge

As a ScamShield helpline operator, Ms Ashley Teh responds to an average of about 50 calls a day from anxious members of the public.

- Claudia Tan

But one victim had an impact on her, and it was her friend who lost $25,000 to a job scam.

Ms Teh, 26, is one of more than10 agents running the 24-hour helpline, 1799, launched in September 2024 to answer scam-related queries from the public.

In its early days, it got about 30 calls a day. Now, agents receive 500 to 700 calls and messages daily.

In just a year, it has received over 128,000 inquiries, with about 80 per cent of the calls seeking to verify if the material that callers received was a scam.

The helpline is run by the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC).

To accommodate the increasing call volume, NCPC relocated its operations from Police Cantonment Complex in New Bridge Road to Certis East Coast in Bedok South Avenue 1in July.

A ceremony was held at the helpline’s new premises on Sept 15 to mark its first anniversary and launch the new operations centre, which can accommodate more than 10 agents, up from six previously.