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The Police would like to remind members of the public to remain vigilant against malware scams involving online sexual services. Since November 2025, at least six cases were reported with total losses amounting to at least $20,000.

In this scam variant, victims would encounter offers of online sexual services via social media platforms such as TikTok or Instagram Threads. The scammers would subsequently deceive the victims into downloading a malicious application under the pretext of initiating a video call. The malware would allow scammers to remotely access victims’ photo galleries and contact lists in their devices. After successfully capturing images of the victims engaging in sexual acts during the video call or retrieving compromising content from the victims’ photo galleries, the scammers would threaten to send the photographs to the victims’ contacts, unless the victims transfer money to the scammers.

The Police would like to remind members of the public to make a police report immediately if anyone attempts to extort money from you. Members of the public are also encouraged to adopt the following precautionary measures:

1. ADD – the ScamShield application to block scam calls and SMSes. Add anti-virus applications and ensure that these applications are updated to scan for the latest malware. Visit www.csa.gov.sg for more information on the recommended list of anti-virus applications. Ensure that your devices’ operating systems and applications are updated regularly to be protected by the latest security patches. Ensure Google Play protect is enabled on your device and do not heed the scammer’s advice to disable it. Disable “Install Unknown App” or “Unknown Sources” in your phone settings and do not grant permission to persistent pop-ups that request for access to your device’s hardware or data.
   
   
2. CHECK – for scam signs with official sources. You can check the legitimacy of suspicious messages, phone numbers and website links via the ScamShield application. Only download and install applications from official app stores (e.g. Google Play Store). Be wary if you are asked to download unknown applications.
   
   
3. TELL – the authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report and block suspected scam accounts/chat groups. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.

If you have already downloaded and installed the application, or suspect that your phone is infected with malware, please take the following steps:

1. Turn your phone to “flight mode”. Check that Wi-Fi is switched off and do not switch it on.
   
   
2. Run an anti-virus scan on your phone.
   
   
3. Check your bank account/Singpass/CPF etc. for any unauthorised transaction(s) using other device(s).
   
   
4. If there are unauthorised transaction(s), report to the bank, relevant authorities, and lodge a Police report. Continue to keep your phone in “flight mode” and do not do a factory reset before reporting the incident to the Police as this could hinder investigations.
   
   
5. After completing steps a-c, if you believe that your phone has not been infected with malware, you may resume usage of your phone. As a further precaution, you may consider doing a “factory reset” of your phone and changing important passwords.

If you are in doubt, call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 to check. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!