SINGAPORE: The first national anti-scam roadshow was launched on Saturday (Nov 8), bringing together various government agencies and community partners to raise public awareness of scams.

It aims to encourage the public to be vigilant against scams, by verifying suspicious phone calls or messages, and to inform the authorities as well as people around them when they spot a scam, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) jointly said on Saturday.

Members of the public can visit the inaugural National Anti-Scam Roadshow, which runs from Saturday to Sunday between 10am and 8pm, at the HDB Hub Atrium in Toa Payoh.

Opened by Mr Goh Pei Ming, Minister of State for Home Affairs and for Social and Family Development, it features a variety of interactive exhibits, mini-games, educational activities and stage performances designed to help the public understand their vulnerability to scams, recognise scam tactics and take self-protection measures.

Various government agencies and community partners have also set up booths at the roadshow to share more about their anti-scam initiatives and how the public can protect themselves in the digital space.

Among the booths are those by MHA, Singapore Police Force, GovTech, Open Government Products and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, as well as partners such as Google, and the aim is to inform visitors on how to spot scams and respond appropriately.

The National Crime Prevention Council, the Infocomm Media Development Authority, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, the Central Provident Fund Board and the Association of Banks in Singapore also have their own booths, where they will share practical tools that the public can use to enhance their mobile and digital security to guard against scams.

Other participants include cybersecurity software firm Virage and non-governmental organisation Aidha.

Parliament on Tuesday passed amendments to Singapore’s criminal law that will see scammers subjected to mandatory caning, and this was noted by MHA and MDDI as part of the government’s multi-pronged approach to fight scams.

The ministries added they were also using technology to detect and block scams more effectively, and efforts are ongoing to strengthen Singapore’s anti-scam measures.

Still, a “vigilant and discerning public is the best defence against scams”, they said.

MHA and MDDI noted that over 78.8 per cent of scams in the first half of 2025 were “self-effected”, and as such, “individuals play a vital role in preventing scams from succeeding in the first place”.

“While the government and partners continue to raise our collective awareness on scams through upcoming roadshows and community engagements, every individual must play their part by learning and adopting anti-scam measures and exercise healthy scepticism to protect themselves and their loved ones.”

In the first half of 2025, there were 19,665 cases amounting to S$456 million (US$350 million) lost to scams.

According to police figures, the top five scams were phishing scams, e-commerce scams, job scams, investment scams and government officials impersonation scams.

They made up more than 70 per cent of total scam cases, with MHA and MDDI on Saturday also flagging government officials impersonation scams, investment scams and job scams as “prevalent”.