Singapore Parliament has passed a bill allowing penalties of up to S$10 million for designated online services that breach anti-scam requirements.
The Scams (Countermeasures) and Other Matters Bill, which received its second reading on 8 September and was passed the following day, will give police wider powers to disable suspected scam accounts and restrict services used to facilitate scams once the relevant provisions take effect.
Reported scam cases fell 14.4% to about 16,800 in the first half of 2026, while losses declined 17.9% to around S$411 million from a year earlier.
However, Singapore still records an average of about 90 scam cases and S$2 million in losses each day.
Around 90% of cases in the first half of 2026 involved online platforms.
Major Social and Messaging Services Could Face S$10 Million Penalties
The bill will amend the Online Criminal Harms Act to allow the competent authority to impose penalties directly on designated online services.
These currently include WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat, Apple, Google, Carousell, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Each instance of non-compliance with a Code of Practice or Implementation Directive could attract a penalty of up to S$10 million.
The authority could instead order the provider to address the breach.
Failure to comply with that order would be a criminal offence.
Courts could impose a fine of up to S$10 million and a further S$300,000 for each day the offence continues after conviction.
The S$10 million ceiling will be the highest fixed-quantum financial penalty in Singapore’s statute book.
Providers will have at least seven days to make written representations before a penalty is imposed and could appeal to the Minister for Home Affairs.
The bill will also allow computer programmes using artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning to issue directions. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, this will apply when scam content is identified with a high degree of confidence.
The head of the agency using the programme will remain responsible for the directions.
Lower-confidence cases will undergo human assessment, according to the ministry, with regular audits and existing appeal mechanisms remaining in place.
Police Will Be Able to Disable Suspected Scam Accounts
The bill will provide the legal basis for faster information sharing between police and service providers such as banks, digital payment token firms, telecommunications companies and online services.
It will support the National Scams List, which is being developed by the police and the Home Team Science and Technology Agency to exchange information about suspicious accounts.
Police will be able to direct providers to disable accounts suspected of being used or prepared for scam-related offences. This will allow them to act before a scam takes place.
Accounts may be disabled for up to 30 days, with one extension of another 30 days. Affected users will be able to appeal to the Commissioner of Police.
Police will also be able to require service providers to disclose account information needed to prevent scam-related offences.
Providers acting in good faith and with reasonable care will be protected from civil and criminal liability when complying with these orders.
Online Account Mules Could Face Caning and Prison Time
The bill will introduce offences covering the supply, receipt and misuse of accounts from designated online services.
It will also cover people who provide personal information to open accounts or retain control of accounts created using someone else’s details for unlawful purposes.
A person who supplies an account for payment or another form of gain will be presumed to have reasonable grounds to believe that it will be used to commit or facilitate an offence, unless the contrary is proved.
Someone who receives an account for gain will be presumed to have intended to use or supply it to commit or facilitate an offence, unless the contrary is proved.
Individuals convicted of the new offences could face fines of up to S$10,000, up to three years in prison or both.
For certain offences, repeat offenders could face fines of up to S$20,000, up to five years in prison or both.
Discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes could apply when an individual knew or intended that the account would be used to commit or facilitate a scam.
The offences will also apply outside Singapore when there is a proven link to harm in the country.
Police will separately be able to require providers to restrict a person’s access to services for up to three years if they suspect or have reason to believe that the person will use the services to commit or facilitate scams.
The restrictions could cover digital banking, cards, ATM services, new telephone lines and Singpass.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the bill’s passage by Parliament on 9 September 2026.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by marinaghanis98 via Magnific
