Singapore has instructed Apple and Google to tighten controls on their messaging platforms after a rise in scams impersonating government bodies. The directive, issued under the Online Criminal Harms Act, follows police reports of fraudulent messages on iMessage and Google Messages that mimicked official communications from entities such as the national postal service, SingPost.

Authorities say the core risk stems from users’ inability to easily distinguish SMS messages—where official “gov.sg” sender IDs are already protected by a local registry—from similar-looking messages delivered through iMessage or Google Messages. Because these appear in the same conversation threads as SMS, recipients may assume spoofed accounts bearing “gov.sg” labels are genuine.

Under the new order, Apple and Google must block or filter account names and group chats that attempt to replicate “gov.sg” or other government-agency identifiers. Both companies have agreed to comply, according to the Home Affairs Ministry, which urged users to update their apps to activate the new safeguards.

The move builds on a broader push to combat digital impersonation. In September, Singapore warned Meta that it could face fines unless it adopted additional anti-scam measures—potentially including facial-recognition checks—to reduce impersonation on Facebook, especially cases involving senior public officials.

With the latest action, Singapore aims to close a loophole in its anti-scam architecture and reinforce confidence in digital communications as cyber-enabled crime continues to evolve.