As the crypto world is struggling with the rampant cases of scammer, Singapore is exploring the possibility of introducing caning as a punishment for scammers in certain cases, acknowledging the severe harm they inflict on victims.

In her statement in the parliament, Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development Sun Xueling announced this new bill while outlining the Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) spending plans for the upcoming year.

Her remarks came in response to a proposal by MP Tan Wu Meng (PAP-Jurong), who suggested mandatory caning for scammers involved in particularly egregious cases.

"We must send a clear message to scammers, the syndicates, and their accomplices: If you deceive our people, steal their life savings, and exploit Singaporeans, we must do everything in our power to ensure you face severe consequences,"

Ms. Sun agreed on the need for strict and deterrent penalties for those who facilitate scams. She highlighted that, following the introduction of new sentencing guidelines, jail terms have become the norm for such offences, with sentences reaching up to 19 months in certain cases.

Crypto expert still get burned

Mrs Sun also explained how scanners have upgraded their playbooks even though several protective measures were already in place in the banking industry.

She listed an example of how scammers have started asking victims to convert their money to cryptocurrencies prior to performing the transfer, thereby bypassing all the banking safeguards that were put in place.

Crypto-related scams make up 25% of all the scam losses in 2024. This was up less than 10% compared to 2023.

One victim lost $125 million in cryptocurrency after he clicked on a fake interview meeting link and was asked to run script on his laptop, according to a report by CNA. The script was actually a malicious code that targeted cryptocurrency wallets.

While cryptocurrency is largely unregulated, only a fixed number of digital payment token services providers have been licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) with certain regulatory safeguards in place.

However, many online exchanges and wallet providers remain unregulated, and out of reach of Singapore's law as they operate from overseas, Sun said. She adds that the anonymity features of certain cryptocurrency transactions can be exploited by criminals to evade capture.

In her parliament statement, Mrs Sun has also warned Singaporeans to steer clear of cryptocurrency. She explained that while many see cryptocurrency as an opportunity to make a quick buck and think that if they do their own research, they won't lose money, many crypto-savvy individuals still lose badly by trading in crypto when their values plummet, or when they fall prey to scams.

Singapore witnessed one of its largest scams last year when the victim lost $125 million from a malware hacking scam. These embedded malware or phising links drain your crypto wallets when you click on the links.

Mrs Sun also warned Singaporeans against memecoins, whose prices often soar rapidly before crashing in pump-and-dump schemes, leaving consumers with significant losses. She added that the risk of getting burned is high, and the chances of scam victims getting their money back is also very low.

Leveraging AI to Combat Tech-enabled Crime

Addressing concerns raised during the debate, Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo outlined the Home Team's strategy to harness artificial intelligence (AI) in the fight against AI-driven crime.

"Scammers are increasingly leveraging generative AI to create fake content at an unprecedented speed and scale, using it to deceive victims and even fabricate evidence to mislead or obstruct investigations," Teo stated.

The growing threat of AI-enhanced scams was highlighted in a report by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) last year. In July 2023, the agency revealed that underground forums were selling modified versions of ChatGPT designed to bypass safety filters and generate fraudulent content. The CSA’s Singapore Cyber Landscape 2023 report further noted that approximately 13% of phishing scams analyzed that year showed indications of AI-generated manipulation.

To counter this rising threat, the Home Team Science & Technology Agency (HTX) has launched the Home Team AI Movement, an initiative aimed at accelerating the adoption of AI technologies across law enforcement and security operations.

"By the end of 2025, HTX will have recruited and trained a specialized AI workforce of 300 professionals," Teo announced, underscoring the government’s commitment to staying ahead in the fight against AI-enabled cybercrime.