Also read: ‘Unauthorised access’ Apple alerts could be a scam, police warn after S$195K Crypto losses
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Featured image courtesy of Meta.
Meta has taken action against more than 3.6 million scam-linked entities, pages and accounts on Facebook and Instagram in Singapore this year.
The move followed enhanced information sharing between Meta and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) under their two-year partnership.
Source: Meta
The collaboration has focused on identifying and disrupting entire scam networks, rather than only removing individual scam accounts or posts.
Meta took action against more than 113,000 scam-linked entities and pages on Facebook and Instagram in the first half of 2026, according to a press release issued on Tuesday (22 Sept).
In June, Meta and SPF also took action against more than 33,600 entities as part of an operation targeting e-commerce scams.
In July, Meta removed more than 3.6 million dormant “shell pages” that it said could be activated for scam campaigns.
The pages were allegedly set up as infrastructure for future scams and removed before they could be used.
Between January and June, SPF referred more than 20,000 accounts, pages and pieces of content to Meta.
These included suspected investment scams, impersonation scams and fraudulent e-commerce advertisements.
Some investment scams allegedly used social media influencers’ identities to promote fictitious investment opportunities.
Source: Meta
Other scam content included advertisements offering concert tickets, food and other goods at unusually low prices to entice users to transfer money.
According to Meta, the information provided by SPF helped its investigators identify connected accounts, pages and entities associated with the same scam networks.
More than 113,000 entities and pages were subsequently “proactively” removed or restricted.
This was more than five times the number of assets initially flagged by SPF, according to Meta.
Meta and SPF also conducted an enhanced disruption operation in June ahead of the school holidays.
The operation focused on e-commerce scams, which Meta said could increase during holiday periods.
More than 33,600 entities were actioned.
These included entities involved in scams featuring misleading prices, fake promotions involving well-known brands, exaggerated product claims and artificial urgency or scarcity.
In July, Meta conducted an investigation into another type of scam infrastructure known as “shell pages”.
These pages may appear empty or harmless because they contain no obvious scam advertisements or violating content.
Source: Meta
However, Meta said scammers allegedly created them as pre-built infrastructure that could be activated later for scam campaigns.
Using signals provided by SPF, Meta identified and removed more than 3.6 million such pages before they could be used.
Meta said it is continuing to investigate and disrupt this type of scam infrastructure.
Daryl Poon, Meta’s Director of Law Enforcement Outreach for APAC, said scammers rely on organisations not having the “full picture” of their operations.
He added that information from SPF helps Meta identify threats it may not otherwise see, while Meta can act against large numbers of connected entities.
“This is what effective collaboration looks like,” he said.
“Not just responding to scams after the fact, but proactively going after the infrastructure behind them.”
Source: Meta
The Commander of Cyber Command, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Justin Wong, said tackling sophisticated scam networks requires collaboration between law enforcement and private and international stakeholders.
He said information shared with industry partners can provide “scam signals” that allow companies to disrupt criminal infrastructure.
“This recent operation demonstrates the power of police and private sector collaboration,” he said.
The Singapore partnership forms part of Meta’s wider efforts to combat scams.
Meta said it has removed 65 million scam advertisements from Facebook and Instagram globally so far this year.
It said 94% of those advertisements were removed before they were reported by users.
Also read: ‘Unauthorised access’ Apple alerts could be a scam, police warn after S$195K Crypto losses
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image courtesy of Meta.