Singapore’s government will transition all official SMS communications to a unified sender ID, “gov.sg,” starting June 18 and fully implemented by July 1. This initiative, announced by Open Government Products (OGP), a part of the Government Technology Agency (GovTech), seeks to simplify the identification of authentic government messages and reduce the risk of scams impersonating government officials.

The consolidation to a single sender ID is designed to help the public easily recognize genuine communications from government agencies, addressing concerns about impersonation scams that have become increasingly prevalent. The government has collaborated with SMS aggregators and telecommunications providers to prevent the “gov.sg” ID from being spoofed, although exceptions will exist for national service and emergency services communications.

Sim Feng-Ji, deputy secretary of the Smart Nation Group, emphasized that this measure aims to reinforce public confidence in government communications. “This reflects the government’s commitment to eliminating malicious activities that erode public trust,” he stated.

With over 100 million SMS messages sent by various government agencies annually—informing citizens about policy changes and transaction updates—SMS remains a vital communication channel in Singapore.

In early 2022, the Smart Nation Group initiated a registration for all government agencies under the Singapore SMS Sender ID protection registry. However, a significant surge in phishing SMS incidents was reported, leading to at least 103 victims losing around S$161,000 in December 2023 alone. These scams typically involved spoofed SMS messages from “plus 65” numbers, tricking victims into revealing sensitive banking information.

The implementation of the “gov.sg” sender ID is expected to bolster efforts against such scams and enhance the security of government communications.