Singapore police have requested Meta to enforce anti-scam actions against advertisements, accounts, profiles, and business pages posing as government office holders on its social media network, Facebook.
If Meta does not implement such measures, which are under the first order under the nation’s new Online Criminal Harms Act, which came into effect in February 2024, to mitigate scams, the company could face fines of up to USD 775,698. According to regulators, the order was issued to Meta because Facebook is among the top platforms utilised by scammers for such impersonation scams, and the police have assessed that more decisive action is needed to mitigate these scams.
The rise of impersonation scams in Singapore
Recently released police data underlined that scams that involved the impersonation of government officials nearly tripled to 1,762 cases in the first half of 2025, from 589 cases during the same period of last year. This led to substantial financial losses compared to 2024.
Moreover, in August 2025, Singapore’s home affairs ministry revealed that over a third of all ecommerce scams reported in 2024 were conducted on Facebook. The regulator also rated Facebook Marketplace as the weakest among six ecommerce marketplaces when it comes to anti-scam capabilities deployed.
However, a Meta representative stated that the company has dedicated systems to identify impersonating accounts, including facial recognition technology, and it had invested in optimising detection and review teams. Additionally, the company shares tips on how to avoid scams and provides tools to report potential violations. It is also mentioned that Meta launched advertiser verification and continues to collaborate with law enforcement agencies and take legal action against the bad actors behind these fraudulent activities.
The home affairs ministry acknowledged that Facebook Marketplace has required enhanced user verification measures for select sellers in Singapore since 2024, and that it rolled out in-product safety notices. Also, the company introduced anti-scam notices within its messaging functionality to warn customers of the risk of ecommerce scams. These initiatives came after criticism from the government over Meta’s failure to implement safety measures that protect users from scams.
