Enhancing Transaction Safety on Social Media and E-commerce Platforms

Dr Shahira Abdullah asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) whether there is an update from the Inter-Ministry Committee on Scams (IMCS) on the measures that will be introduced to (i) regulate or improve user identification and authentication and (ii) enhance transaction safety of social media and e-commerce platforms; and (b) whether there is data on the uptake of ScamShield launched in November 2020 and its effectiveness in preventing scams.

To secure e-commerce transactions from scams, in May 2022, the Inter-Ministry Committee on Scams launched the E-commerce Marketplace Transaction Safety Ratings (TSR), and worked with industry stakeholders including e-commerce marketplaces, payment service and logistics providers to launch the revised national standards for e-commerce transactions in Technical Reference 76 (TR 76).

The TSR informs consumers on the transaction safety of major e-commerce marketplaces in Singapore – Amazon, Lazada, Qoo10, Shopee, Carousell and Facebook Marketplace. E-commerce marketplaces are assigned an overall safety rating, ranging from one to four ticks, based on the anti-scam measures they have in place to ensure (a) user authenticity, (b) transaction safety, (c) availability of loss remediation channels for their consumers, and (d) effectiveness of their anti-scam measures. Amazon, Lazada and Qoo10 were awarded the highest rating of four ticks, as they had all critical anti-scam measures in place. The TSR also provides advisories on safety features that consumers can look out for when transacting online, as well as specific features provided by each e-commerce marketplace. Further details on the TSR can be found at the following link: https://www.mha.gov.sg/ecommerce-marketplace-transaction-safety-ratings.

The revised TR 76 includes additional guidelines targeted at e-retailers and e-commerce marketplaces to ensure merchant authenticity and improve transaction security. Examples include verifying merchant information against Government records, and implementing post-purchase protection mechanisms such as secured escrow payment options. The TR 76 is available for viewing at the following link: https://www.singaporestandardseshop.sg/Covid19/Desktop.

The additional guidelines in TR 76 are part of the safety features rated in the TSR. Together, TSR and TR 76 aim to raise consumer and industry awareness, and encourage the use of safety features and good practices when transacting online. While the additional anti-scam guidelines in TR 76 are not mandatory, they were developed through consensus by a multi-stakeholder Working Group that included e-commerce marketplace representatives. MHA will monitor the situation and assess whether further measures, including regulations, are required.

As of 31 July 2022, more than 300,500 users have downloaded the ScamShield app, which is currently only available on the iOS platform. More than 5.1 million SMSes have been reported, and over 24,500 phone numbers believed to be used for scam calls have been blocked.

The National Crime Prevention Council and GovTech are working to launch the Android version of ScamShield by this month. We encourage the public to make full use of the ScamShield app to protect themselves from scams.