Multi-pronged protection
Nevertheless, there are plenty of support systems in place that can enable Singaporeans to go about their daily lives safely and assuredly. And more importantly, help their loved ones do the same.
At the national level, efforts are ongoing to strengthen protection against scams.
For example, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has already worked with mobile operators to add the “+65” prefix to all blacklisted overseas and local calls. According to Singtel, they successfully block an average of 30 million scam calls and 20 million scam SMSes monthly.
IMDA recently also announced that it will require all organisations that use SMS sender IDs to register them with the Singapore SMS Sender ID Registry using their unique entity number. SMS sender IDs are the alphanumeric names that organisations use to identify themselves when sending messages.
According to a recent customer survey by Singtel, 50 per cent of consumers think that they will encounter a security issue while connected to mobile data or home broadband. That is why the telco believes it is essential for Singapore to adopt a 3-Step Security Approach to enhance our protections at the network, device and community levels.
At the network level, Singtel has implemented anti-scam filtering solutions within their mobile networks to filter scam messages before they reach consumers.
Next, we can amp up protection by adopting healthy cyber habits for ourselves and our families. By activating two-factor (2FA) authentication, for instance, an online account will require a passcode that is sent to an email or via SMS to be entered before it can be accessed, thus adding an extra layer of protection. Apps like ScamShield can identify and filter scam messages and block calls.
