Implementation of Nationwide Caller Identification Protocol for Government Calls to Combat Phone and Government Official Impersonation Scams
Ministry of Digital Development and InformationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the implementation of a nationwide caller identification protocol, proposed by Mr Shawn Loh, to verify calls from government agencies and businesses to combat impersonation scams. Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo responded that the Government is developing a common prefix for agency calls, with a pilot by the Singapore Police Force starting later this year. She noted plans to tag calls with recognisable names and adopt international authentication standards like STIR/SHAKEN to assist the public in identifying genuine communications. Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo reiterated that officials will never request money, bank login details, or unofficial app installations via telephone calls. Finally, she emphasized that public education and vigilance remain critical alongside these technical safeguards to effectively protect citizens from evolving scam tactics.
Transcript
42 Mr Shawn Loh asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information whether the Ministry has considered implementing a nationwide caller identification or authentication protocol, similar to STIR/SHAKEN (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited/ Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) in North America, to provide the public with verified caller ID for calls from the Government and legitimate businesses with frequent high-risk interactions, such as banks, thereby reducing the number of phone scams.
43 Mr Shawn Loh asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information given the prevalence of Government Official Impersonation Scams (GOIS), whether the Ministry is considering a protocol for all Government-initiated calls to begin with a process for the call recipient to verify the officer's identity, thereby reducing GOIS and increasing public awareness to seek verification even for non-Government calls.
Mrs Josephine Teo: The Government takes the threat of Government Officials Impersonation Scams seriously and is committed to combating calls that undermine public trust in Government communications. As previously shared at the Committee of Supply 2026, the Government is developing systems for all Government agencies to make calls with numbers that start with a common prefix. The Singapore Police Force will be piloting this initiative later this year.
We are also working towards the tagging of Government calls with a recognisable caller name and adopting authentication protocols that reference international standards, such as STIR/SHAKEN. Together, these measures are intended to help the public identify genuine calls from Government agencies. More details will be shared when ready.
Public education remains a critical pillar of our anti-scam efforts. Even as the Government continues to strengthen such safeguards, we must all remain vigilant and take active steps to protect ourselves. The Government has issued advisories to remind the public that Government officials will never ask them to transfer money, disclose bank log-in details over a phone call or install mobile applications from unofficial app stores.