Singapore may issue an Online Criminal Harms Act later this year to better tackle crimes committed in cyberspace, according to Second Minister for Home Affairs Josephine Teo.

If passed by parliament, the proposed Online Criminal Harms Act will grant the government powers to stop or remove online communications that pave the way for crimes in the physical world, such as inciting violence.

It is also aimed at closing the gaps left by the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, which came into force in 2019, as well as the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act, that was passed in 2021.

According to the latest figures from the Singapore Police Force, the number of scam and cybercrime cases in Singapore hit an all-time high of 33,669 in 2022, up 25.2% year-on-year.

Notably, scams accounted for 94.2% of all cybercrime-related cases reported last year. The total amount victims claimed to have lost through all scams was 660.7 million SGD (489.7 million USD) in 2022, a 4.5% increase from 632 million SGD in 2021./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency