Carousell, Facebook must verify 'risky' sellers, advertisers in order to curb scams

Messaging platforms will also need to roll out measures to root out fake accounts

- Lee Li Ying, Christine Tan

From June 26, Carousell and Facebook will need to verify "risky" sellers and advertisers against government-issued records as the local authorities crack down on ecommerce scams.

Messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and WeChat will also need to roll out reasonable verification measures to root out fake accounts run by scammers or bots for malicious activities by the end of 2024.

These obligations are set out in newly announced codes of practice aimed at disabling scammers, who have taken advantage of online anonymity on e-commerce and messaging platforms to carry out criminal activities.

Failure to comply is a criminal offence under the newly minted Online (Ocha).

Criminal Harms Act The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which announced the codes on June 21, said the Government would continue to work with the industry to try to minimise the effect of criminal activities in the online space on Singapore users.

Under the Code of Practice for E-Commerce Services, Facebook and Carousell will need to verify the identities only of sellers considered "risky", for a start.

If the number of scams reported on Facebook Marketplace, in Facebook advertisements and on Carousell does not drop significantly, MHA will require the two companies to verify the identities of all sellers and advertisers by early 2025.