Singapore’s police have directed Apple and Google to block users from pretending to be government agencies on their messaging apps.
The Home Affairs Ministry said the order was issued under the country’s Online Criminal Harms Act after scammers were found sending fake messages on Apple’s iMessage and Google Messages, claiming to be from organisations like the national postal service, SingPost.
Authorities said many people trust messages that appear to come from “gov.sg” because government agencies are already registered under a local SMS registry that protects their names. However, this protection does not apply to iMessage or Google Messages. As a result, messages on these platforms appear next to regular SMS messages, making it harder for users to tell what is real and what is fake.
Under the new order, Apple and Google must stop accounts and group chats from using names that imitate “gov.sg” or any other official government agency. They must also filter out messages that attempt to do so. The ministry said both companies have agreed to follow the instructions and have urged the public to update their apps so they can benefit from the new safety features.
If this article helped you, please consider supporting our work. Every small contribution keeps Abijita.com independent and running.
