Do not reply to such an SMS or call. Do not interact in any way.

Unsolicited SMSes or calls from unknown sources that are related to loans, financial assistance or online gambling are likely to be associated with unlicensed moneylending and illegal gambling activities. The PDPC investigates all complaints regarding unsolicited telemarketing SMSes or calls seriously. However, unlicensed moneylending and illegal gambling are serious criminal offences in Singapore where the Police are the relevant authority to investigate such offences. If you receive such SMSes or calls, please notify the Police directly by: 

• lodging a Police Report;
• calling the National Crime Prevention Council's 'X Ah Long' Hotline at 1800-924-5664 (1800-X-AH-LONG); or
• providing information via I-Witness.

Complaints received by the PDPC relating to such activities will be referred to the Police.

Please click here to lodge a complaint on a DNC Registry Offence or a personal data protection related offence. Alternatively, you may also submit a complaint to the PDPC by calling 6377 3131 or sending an email to info@pdpc.gov.sg.

While there is no specific time frame during which a complaint may be lodged, you may wish to note that the evidence may no longer be available to substantiate your case if the complaint is lodged a significant period after the telemarketing message/call was received.

The DNC Registry lets you opt out of marketing messages addressed to your Singapore telephone number, such as those which promote or advertise goods or services, allowing you to have more control over the kind of messages you receive on your telephone, mobile telephone, or fax machine.

Organisations are required to check the DNC Registry within 30 days before sending any telemarketing message. Therefore, you should not receive telemarketing messages from organisations, which are covered by the scope of the DNC Registry, 30 days after registration.

You may continue to receive telemarketing calls and messages within the next 30 days after registration.
You may also continue to receive messages, which are not covered by the scope of the DNC Registry, such as:

• Messages for which you have given the organisation your clear and unambiguous consent in written or other accessible form to receive;
• Service calls or reminder messages in respect of services that you have bought;
• Business-to-Business telemarketing; or
• Messages related to the subject of your ongoing relationship with the organisation.

Registration of telephone numbers on the DNC Registry does not expire. Your registration will only be removed when you terminate your number, or when you remove your number from the DNC Registry.

Registration with the DNC Registry is free-of-charge.

Scam messages generally do not promote goods, services, suppliers of goods and services, and are thus unlikely to be specified messages for the purposes of the DNC provisions. If you suspect that the call or message you received is a scam, you are advised to notify the Police by:

• lodging a Police Report;
• calling the National Crime Prevention Council's 'X Ah Long' Hotline at 1800-924-5664 (1800-X-AH-LONG); or
• providing information via I-Witness.

The DNC Registry accepts registration of only 8-digit Singapore telephone numbers, including mobile, home and office numbers. Any Singapore number that begins with 3, 6, 8 or 9 can be registered. Please note that access to the device of the number that is being registered is required.

For registration of office phone numbers, in general, only the account-holder or subscriber of the telephone line should register the telephone number on the DNC Registry. Where the account-holder or subscriber of the telephone line is the organisation and not the employee, employees should seek permission of the organisation if they wish to register their business numbers. In any case, the sending of Business-to-Business (B2B) marketing messages is not currently covered by the requirements relating to the DNC Registry.

The DNC provisions apply to the sending of telemarketing messages addressed to Singapore telephone numbers registered with the DNC Registry. In situations where telemarketing messages are sent through smartphone applications that use a telephone number as an identifier, such as WhatsApp, such messages will be covered by the DNC provisions.

Telemarketing messages sent via other technologies such as those using a mobile data connection will be treated similarly, as long as the message is addressed to a Singapore telephone number. However, some data-based phone applications do not use phone numbers as identifiers, and may use other identifiers such as email addresses instead. Telemarketing messages that are sent through such applications will not be covered by the DNC provisions.

The DNC Registry covers marketing messages sent to Singapore telephone numbers. Emails and mail delivered by post are not included within the scope of the DNC Registry.

Emails are not included within the scope of the DNC Registry as unsolicited emails can be blocked through email filters. They also cause less of a nuisance to delete when received, as compared to telephone calls, SMS and fax messages, which are more difficult for the individual to filter. Furthermore, the Spam Control Act (SCA) helps to complete the framework by setting out requirements in relation to the sending of unsolicited commercial electronic messages in bulk. Please refer to our FAQ on the SCA to find out more about the differences between the PDPA and the SCA.

As for junk mail, there are existing ways for individuals to reduce the volume of such mail, such as through the use of letterboxes with anti-junk mail features. Junk mail may also be less of a nuisance than telephone calls, SMS or MMS messages, or faxes, which are more likely to inconvenience an individual or interrupt his activities.