About Us
What is ScamShield?
ScamShield is a product suite that defends against scams, and was developed by Open Government Products in collaboration with the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC).
With the soft launch of the ScamShield Bot, now ScamShield users can check and report scams on the Bot and protect themselves from scam calls and SMSes through the Apps.
The ScamShield Defense System
The ScamShield Bot comes as the latest anti-scam product to help users identify and report scams. Therefore, to get protection from scam SMSes and calls, use the ScamShield App in conjunction with reporting and checking scams on the Bot to receive more protective benefits from ScamShield’s overall defense system.
App Features
The ScamShield mobile app has 3 main features:
- Automatically blocks scam calls
- Automatically detects scam messages
- Allows users to report scam messages and calls
Bot Features
The ScamShield Bot has 2 core features:
- Check if a message or a call is a scam
- Report scams to the SPF
How ScamShield works
The ScamShield defense system works better when more scam reports with sufficient information are submitted. Whether through the Bot or the Apps, all reports received through ScamShield are reviewed by the Singapore Police Force (SPF). Hence, ScamShield is the authoritative way to check whether something is a scam.
How the Bot works:
When checking whether a message or call is scam, the ScamShield Bot will be able to tell whether the info being checked has previously been reported, whether any of the contacts have been confirmed as scam by the SPF, or whether the machine learning classifier detects any suspicious web links or messages that have previously been used by scammers.
The contacts determined to be scam by the SPF will then be blacklisted, and SMSes or calls from these numbers will be flagged or blocked on devices with the official ScamShield App. Thus, by reporting to the ScamShield Bot or the Apps, you’ll be helping to protect the broader community in Singapore from similar scams.
How the Apps work:
The ScamShield App detects incoming scam calls and text messages. Incoming calls from unknown numbers are checked against a database maintained by the Singapore Police Force – if ScamShield determines the number has been used for scams, it will be blocked.
For incoming SMSes from anyone who isn’t a saved contact, ScamShield will determine if the SMS is a scam using an on-device algorithm. For the iOS version, it filters these scam SMSes into the Junk folder. For Android, a notification is sent to alert users that they may have received a scam message.
Detected and reported scam messages and calls are sent to SPF for review. This keeps the App updated and will help protect others from similar scam messages and calls.
Your privacy is our priority
We value your privacy and protect your data with utmost care. The ScamShield Bot and Apps follow strict security measures to keep your information safe and confidential. The Bot cannot read your other chats on WhatsApp, and the Apps cannot read any SMSes coming from saved contacts.
When you submit a report to the ScamShield Bot or the Apps, the SPF will only be able to see the information you have submitted.