Apple, Google told to crack down on government-agency spoofing in Singapore

• Under the new order, Apple and Google must block accounts and group chats from using or spoofing government agency names—including “gov.sg”—or otherwise filter such messages from their platforms.

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs has directed technology giants Apple and Google to implement measures preventing the impersonation of government agencies on their messaging platforms, as part of a crackdown on rising scam activity.

The order, issued under the Online Criminal Harms Act, follows reports of scams on Apple’s iMessage and Google Messages that masqueraded as reputable entities such as local postal service SingPost.

Authorities noted that while Singapore government agencies are registered with a local SMS registry—ensuring only official messages bear the “gov.sg” signature—this safeguard is not currently extended to iMessage or Google Messages.

“Members of the public may assume that messages they receive from accounts claiming to be from ‘gov.sg’ on iMessage or Google Messages are legitimate because messages sent through these services appear alongside and are not easily distinguishable from SMSes,” police said in a statement.

Digital safety

Under the new order, Apple and Google must block accounts and group chats from using or spoofing government agency names—including “gov.sg”—or otherwise filter such messages from their platforms.

Both companies have agreed to comply and are working on technical updates. The Home Affairs Ministry is urging members of the public to update their mobile applications to benefit from enhanced anti-scam protections.

This move follows a September warning to Meta Platforms, where Singapore authorities threatened regulatory fines if the company failed to introduce enhanced authentication measures—such as facial recognition—on Facebook to deter impersonation scams targeting government office holders and agencies.

The latest measures reflect Singapore’s increasingly assertive enforcement of digital safety amid a surge in online scams targeting citizens and key institutions.