‘Scam vaccines’ built by GovTech unit aims to help Singaporeans fight the real threat

SINGAPORE – An open call has been made for Singapore residents to be inoculated against scams.

A digital Scam Vaccine, developed by GovTech’s unit Open Government Products (OGP), will be administered in the form of realistic artificial intelligence-powered simulations.

Participants who sign up will be put through live, unscripted scam tactics over phone calls and WhatsApp messages in a controlled and safe environment. Participants will not be warned beforehand, much like a fire drill.

The aim is to close the gap between the detection of a new scam and public awareness of it, OGP’s lead product manager, Tay Paul Hong, told The Straits Times.

The development of Scam Vaccine began in January during the agency’s annual Hack for Public Good hackathon.

“The team wanted to test whether people could build familiarity with scam tactics before encountering the real thing, similar to the principle of inoculation.”

As at Oct 2, over 700 residents have indicated their interest since sign-ups opened on Sept 20. Users submit their name, Singapore mobile number and age range to register.

Scam Vaccine works by replicating new scam variants and sending safe, simulated versions via phone call or WhatsApp to registered participants.

Government official impersonation, e-commerce, investment and love scams were among the most common scam types reported in Singapore in 2026.

New scam variants are detected through public reports submitted to ScamShield, built by OGP with the police, Ministry of Home Affairs and National Crime Prevention Council.

The public can download the ScamShield app, which works in the background to silently block incoming calls from phone numbers that are blacklisted in the official ScamShield database.

Recreating elements of real scams such as channels used, conversational tactics and progression of the scam help to make the simulations convincing, said Tay.

“AI can also respond dynamically to what a participant says while remaining within the parameters of the particular scam scenario,” he added.

Built-in safety features ensure that participants will not lose money, install malware or have their data leaked to third parties. The system also monitors signs of stress and will end the simulation if a high stress threshold is reached.

“We only send simulations when we detect a scam pattern worth training for, so some periods may be quiet and others may have an occasional exercise,” said OGP on its Scam Vaccine site.

At the end of each simulation, participants will receive a tailored debrief based on how they fared. The report will include the red flags that participants were able to catch and the details to watch out for in the future.

Users who have a query, face an issue or want to share feedback can contact OGP at support@scamvaccine.gov.sg.

Marketing director Louis Sim, who receives scam calls and texts around twice a week, said he is keen to sign up as he believes it could provide a valuable learning experience without any real-world consequences.

“But I’m interested to see if this could inadvertently create a false sense of confidence. Someone might become good at spotting scams they’ve been trained on, but still be vulnerable to a new or unfamiliar approach,” said the 37-year-old.

“I hope more testing and evaluation will be done to determine whether the programme actually changes behaviour and improves people’s responses to real threats.”

This is among the key metrics that the team at OGP is working on, said Tay, adding that the simulated scams can provide behavioural insights into how people respond, which are findings that can help refine the exercise.

Civil servant Agnes Tan, 50, said she is worried that her 80-year-old mum, who receives scams calls and texts occasionally, might confuse real scams for a drill if she signs up to be part of the simulation.

“I think simple and clear instructions, like don’t entertain strange calls and messages, will work better for the elderly,” said Tan.