SPF partners with Meta & global law enforcement to take down 150,000 accounts linked to scam centres

The Singapore Police Force (SPF), in collaboration with Meta and other global law enforcement agencies, successfully cracked down on over 150,000 Meta accounts associated with scam centres during the second "Joint Disruption Week" in Bangkok, Thailand.

The operation comes after a Meta report listed Mandarin-speakers, including those in Singapore, as among the top victims of scam syndicates on Meta platforms.

Singapore Mandarin speakers among top scam victims

The Second joint Disruption Week between SPF, Meta and other law enforcement saw the disabling of over 150,000 accounts associated with scam centres and 21 arrests by the Royal Thai Police, said Meta.

Conducted on the week of Mar. 2, it was led by the Royal Thai Police's Anti-Cyber Scam Center (ACSC) and U.S. law enforcements, including the FBI.

It was the first time SPF was invited to such a joint operation following a pilot program in December 2025, where the Royal Thai Police was the only non-U.S. based agency involved.

Other law enforcement agencies involved in the operation were from the UK, Canada, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia.

According to Meta's adversarial threat report for the first half of 2026, investigations found that scam syndicates most frequently targeted English-speaking users across the U.S., followed by users in India.

Mandarin-speaking audiences, including those in Singapore, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, were the next groups targeted, while audiences in Japan and South Korea were the third-most targeted group.

"These targeting concentrations likely reflect both the expected returns of larger, higher-income markets and the operational realities of these compounds," the reports stated.

This included places where workers are typically trained to communicate in English or in their own major regional languages, so as to increase "volume targeting".

In November 2025, Singapore was also among the countries where developers were issued cease and desist (C&D) letters by Meta for violations relating to "kissing apps", where AI used to generate fake kissing images were advertised on Meta platforms.

However, the report noted that scam syndicates are opportunistic "and may target individuals anywhere".

According to Meta, Russia, Iran and China continue to be the three leading sources of "foreign clandestine influence operations".

New anti-scam tools

The tech giant also announced it would be launching a series of new anti-scam tools across its platforms.

From Mar. 11, Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger will contain features alerting users of suspicious activities relating to other users.

Facebook friend requests

Facebook will generate alerts for suspicious friend requests.

When users send or receive friend requests from accounts that show certain signs of suspicious activity, such as not having many mutual friends or having indicated an unlikely country location, they will be sent an alert to make an informed decision to block or reject the request.

WhatsApp device linking

WhatsApp will alert users when behavioural signals suggest that a linking request from another party might be suspicious.

Scammers may try to trick people into linking their WhatsApp account to their device.

For example, they may pose as a talent competition, asking users to cast a vote by going to a website, entering their phone number, and then sending a device linking code on WhatsApp.

They may also try to trick users into scanning a QR code under false pretences, which would then link the scammer's device to one's account.

With the new anti-scam tool, users will receive alerts showing where the request is coming from and warn that it could be a scam, which gives them time to reconsider.

Messenger scam detection

Facebook messaging app Messenger will have an advanced scam detection tool across a number of countries in March 2026, including in Australia and the United Kingdom.

It detects patterns of common scams like suspicious job offers in chats with new contacts, then warns users who can share the chat messages with Meta for an AI scam review.

If a potential scam is detected, users will get more information on those common scam types, and suggestions on some actions they can take, including blocking or reporting the account that may be suspicious.

Verification for advertisements

More advertisers on Meta platforms may also be required to verify themselves depending on factors like where they deliver ads and whether they have a history of rule-breaking on the platform, said Meta.

"The verification process helps promote greater transparency, limiting attempts to misrepresent advertiser identity," the report wrote. "These features are part of a multi layered defence."

"No single tool here is sufficient on its own. The goal is to make it harder for scammers to reach people, harder for them to succeed when they do reach people, faster for us to remove them when they're identified."

Top images via Canva & SPF