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SINGAPORE – On Friday (November 20) the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) launched a new mobile application that filters fraudulent calls and messages to prevent them from reaching mobile phone users.
Known as ScamShield, the app checks incoming SMS messages and calls against a list of known scam numbers and filters them if they match.
Fraudulent SMS messages identified by the application are sent to the spam folder of the phone, while fraudulent calls are automatically blocked without notifying the user.
The app, which was developed by NCPC and Open Government Products, also uses artificial intelligence to identify fraudulent SMS messages by detecting keywords commonly found in such messages.
“Only incoming SMS from unknown contacts will go through ScamShield. (The app) will not scan SMS from known contacts,” NCPC said.
The council added that ScamShield does not have access to the user’s contact list, location or personal data. The app also doesn’t require users to sign up with their mobile phone numbers.
Users can report fraudulent calls and messages through the app, which will be added to the database and shared with the police.
Given the ease with which foreign numbers can be disguised to look like local calling numbers, NCPC warned that numbers that are not blocked by the ScamShield app could still be from scammers.
“Users must remain vigilant and adopt scam prevention strategies to avoid falling victim to scammers,” he said.
ScamShield is currently only available on iOS devices and can be downloaded from the App Store.
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