Over 1,000 Home Team officers honoured for achievements, with 627 receiving long service medals

Scam victims suffer not only financial losses but also broken families, and some are even driven to suicide, said the assistant director of the police’s Anti-Scam Command (ASC), Assistant Commissioner of Police (AC) Aileen Yap.

- Christine Tan

The human cost of scams is what keeps her going at ASC, which was set up in 2019 to combat the scam scourge in Singapore.

On Nov 17, she was one of 627 individuals who received a Long Service Medal at the Ministry of Home Affairs’ National Day Awards Investiture.

AC Yap, who has been in the force for 25 years, told The Straits Times that it is a privilege to help victims recover their hard-earned money and rebuild their lives.

"Giving up is never an option because for the people we serve, the stakes are real and deeply personal," she said.

More than 1,000 officers were honoured for their achievements at the ceremony, where Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong was guest of honour.

In his speech, Mr Tong said rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have changed the Home Team’s operating landscape, including in scams and terrorism.

He said scammers can now create convincing deepfake content and scam messages using AI.

Victims in Singapore lost about $3.88 billion to scams between 2020 and September 2025.

In 2020, AC Yap spearheaded Project Frontier, where the police collaborated with financial institutions and online marketplaces to recover funds lost to scams.