Singapore government joins global scam signal exchange

The Government Technology Agency of Singapore has become the first government entity to join the Global Signal Exchange, marking a significant expansion of public-private cooperation against online scams. The announcement came on September 3, 2025, as Southeast Asia faces estimated losses of US$23.6 billion from online fraud in the past year.

GovTech Singapore partners with the Singapore Police Force to share scam intelligence through the collaborative platform, which tracks more than 380 million threat signals in real time. This partnership joins an established network of over 30 private sector members, including technology giants Google, Meta, and Microsoft, who pool intelligence to disrupt criminal activity at speed and scale.

The Global Signal Exchange operates under the stewardship of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance and Oxford Information Labs. The platform enables accredited members to share abuse data and threat signals instantaneously, creating a coordinated response mechanism designed to make online scams less profitable and less effective across borders.

Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Digital Development and Information and Ministry of Health, announced the partnership at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2025. As Patron of the GASA Singapore Chapter, he emphasized the initiative's role in strengthening global public-private partnerships against online fraud.

Singapore's comprehensive anti-scam infrastructure

The collaboration builds on Singapore's existing anti-scam capabilities through the Scam Analytics and Tactical Intervention System (SATIS). GovTech Singapore and the Singapore Police Force co-developed this end-to-end platform, which leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to help law enforcement prioritize, evaluate, and disrupt scam websites.

SATIS employs GovTech Singapore's proprietary rMSE classifier as part of its analytical framework. The system reviews hundreds of thousands of websites daily, combining advanced automation with human analysis to identify potentially fraudulent operations. This systematic approach enables rapid assessment and intervention against emerging scam threats.

The system represents a significant technological investment in combating cross-border criminal activity. By processing vast quantities of web data through machine learning algorithms, SATIS can identify patterns and indicators that might escape manual detection methods. The platform's daily operations demonstrate the scale of the threat landscape that authorities must monitor continuously.

Regional scam landscape and financial impact

New data released at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2025 revealed the substantial financial toll of online fraud across Southeast Asia. The region recorded an estimated US$23.6 billion in losses from online scams over the past 12 months, highlighting the urgent need for coordinated response mechanisms.

Singapore recorded the highest per-person loss in the region at US$2,132, indicating both the sophistication of attacks targeting the city-state and the economic impact on individual victims. This figure underscores the particular vulnerability of financially developed markets to complex fraud schemes.

A regional survey of 6,000 people conducted for the summit showed that nearly 77 percent of Southeast Asian adults encountered scam attempts in the past year. This exposure rate demonstrates the pervasive nature of online fraud and the challenge facing both authorities and technology platforms in protecting users.

Technology industry response and prevention initiatives

Google announced a US$5 million grant to expand scam prevention resources across ASEAN countries, demonstrating the private sector's investment in fraud prevention education. The funding will support scaling of the educational game "Be Scams Ready," designed to help consumers develop critical scam-spotting skills.

The game launches in Singapore in October 2025, with plans for expansion into additional Asia-Pacific markets throughout 2026. This educational approach represents a preventive strategy that complements the technical detection and disruption capabilities of platforms like the Global Signal Exchange.

The timeline for regional expansion reflects a measured approach to educational content deployment, allowing for localization and effectiveness assessment before broader rollout. Meta has previously implemented similar educational initiatives across its platforms, demonstrating industry-wide recognition of the importance of user education in fraud prevention.

Executive perspectives on international cooperation

Emily Taylor, CEO of the Global Signal Exchange, emphasized the significance of government participation in the platform. "GovTech Singapore's participation sets a leadership example for other governments around the world to follow," she stated. "Their membership of the GSE will allow them to join a strong global coalition of both public and private sector organisations working against scams."

Taylor highlighted the collaborative benefits of the arrangement, noting the opportunity for government agencies to work directly with leading technology companies. "Turning the tables on the scammers is achievable but it involves businesses, governments and enforcement agencies worldwide to work much more closely together," she explained.

Mark Chen, Director of the Government Anti Scam Products team at GovTech Singapore, addressed the borderless nature of modern fraud operations. "Scams are increasingly borderless," he observed. "By participating in GSE, GovTech Singapore can share intelligence with trusted partners and strengthen protection for our citizens, while contributing to the global fight against scam actors."

Global Signal Exchange operational framework

The Global Signal Exchange represents a collaborative initiative between the DNS Research Federation, Google, and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance. The platform facilitates sharing and analysis of threat intelligence with the goal of creating a safer online environment for users worldwide.

The exchange's real-time tracking of over 380 million threat signals provides participating organizations with unprecedented visibility into emerging fraud patterns. This scale of data processing enables pattern recognition and predictive capabilities that individual organizations might struggle to achieve independently.

Member organizations contribute signals related to scam-tainted websites, suspicious domains, and other indicators of fraudulent activity. The collective intelligence approach allows members to benefit from the detection capabilities and threat awareness of the entire network, creating a force multiplication effect for fraud prevention efforts.

Platform integration and technical capabilities

The partnership integrates GovTech Singapore's capabilities with the broader GSE network of over 30 industry members. This network includes major technology platforms that process billions of user interactions daily, providing extensive coverage of potential fraud indicators.

The technical integration enables Singapore authorities to access threat intelligence from global sources while contributing local insights to benefit international partners. This bidirectional information sharing creates a comprehensive view of cross-border fraud operations that might otherwise remain fragmented across jurisdictional boundaries.

The collaboration demonstrates how government technical capabilities can complement private sector resources. Previous industry partnerships have shown the effectiveness of combining different organizations' detection capabilities and data sources to improve overall fraud prevention outcomes.

Industry implications for marketing and advertising

The expansion of anti-scam cooperation has significant implications for digital marketing and advertising ecosystems. Fraudulent websites and scam operations often exploit advertising networks to generate revenue, making platforms and advertisers unwitting participants in criminal enterprises.

Enhanced scam detection capabilities benefit legitimate advertisers by reducing the risk of brand association with fraudulent content. Recent investigations have revealed how sophisticated fraud operations can exploit advertising technologies to generate billions in illegitimate revenue.

The Global Signal Exchange's real-time intelligence sharing can help advertising platforms identify and block fraudulent inventory before it impacts advertiser campaigns. This proactive approach protects both advertiser investments and platform reputation while reducing the financial incentives that drive scam operations.

Digital marketing professionals benefit from improved ecosystem integrity as fraud prevention measures reduce the prevalence of illegitimate competition and inventory. Enhanced detection capabilities also support more accurate campaign measurement by reducing the impact of fraudulent traffic on advertising metrics.

Summit initiatives and broader cooperation

Jorij Abraham, Managing Director at GASA and summit host, emphasized the systemic nature of modern fraud threats. "Scams are no longer isolated incidents, they are a systemic, cross-border threat," he observed. "When governments get involved, we see a step-change that can turn the tide against online criminals."

Abraham highlighted the potential for additional government participation in the Global Signal Exchange. "We hope other policymakers and law enforcement agencies around the world take note of GovTech Singapore's participation and follow suit," he stated. "The Global Signal Exchange is changing the narrative on online crime, but we need everyone to join GSE and be part of the movement for change."

The summit's focus on regional cooperation reflects the international nature of online fraud operations. Criminal networks often operate across multiple jurisdictions, making coordinated response mechanisms essential for effective disruption.

The announcement represents a broader trend toward public-private partnership in cybersecurity and fraud prevention. As criminal operations become more sophisticated and cross-border in nature, traditional law enforcement approaches must evolve to match the scale and speed of digital threats.

Timeline

• September 3, 2025: GovTech Singapore announces partnership with Global Signal Exchange at Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2025
• October 2025: Google's "Be Scams Ready" educational game launches in Singapore
• 2026: Planned expansion of educational game into additional APAC markets
• February 12, 2025: Meta announced comprehensive romance scam prevention measures ahead of Valentine's Day
• August 30, 2024: HUMAN's Satori team exposed Camu ad fraud operation involving 2.5 billion daily bid requests
• June 15, 2025: DoubleVerify unveiled AI-powered solution for video advertising optimization amid growing fraud concerns
• March 30, 2022: Ogury partnered with DoubleVerify to implement pre-bid fraud prevention technology

Summary

Who: The Government Technology Agency of Singapore, in partnership with the Singapore Police Force, joined the Global Signal Exchange, becoming the first government entity to participate in the platform alongside over 30 private sector members including Google, Meta, and Microsoft.

What: Singapore joined a real-time threat intelligence sharing platform that tracks more than 380 million signals to combat online scams through coordinated public-private partnership, enabling faster detection and disruption of criminal activity.

When: The partnership was announced on September 3, 2025, at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2025, with educational initiatives launching in October 2025 and regional expansion planned for 2026.

Where: The announcement took place at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2025, with the partnership affecting Singapore's domestic scam prevention capabilities while contributing to global anti-fraud efforts across multiple jurisdictions.

Why: Southeast Asia recorded estimated losses of US$23.6 billion from online scams in the past year, with Singapore showing the highest per-person losses at US$2,132, necessitating enhanced international cooperation to combat increasingly borderless criminal operations.