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Straits Times
6 days ago
- Straits Times
Coffee Meets Bagel's Singpass check: Why I'll swipe right on that
Find out what's new on ST website and app. On June 9, Coffee Meets Bagel started using Singpass authentication to verify its local users. I knew I would probably have to kiss many frogs before I found my prince, but I did not expect to have to scrutinise if the frogs were real in the first place. Roland looked and sounded like a dream – 39 years old, a corporate lawyer with a start-up on the side, pictures of him in a fancy car and at a yacht party enjoying cocktails, and a bio so polished it could have been written by a branding consultant. But the scripted perfection felt off. In our text conversations, his responses were stilted and unnatural. His favourite food was chicken rice, and his favourite place to catch a sunset was at Marina Bay Sands. His poison of choice at a bar? The Singapore Sling. In the four days I chatted with him, every day on the dot at noon, he would ask if I had eaten. Every night at 10.30pm, I would get a good night message wishing me sweet dreams. Days later, his profile was quietly deleted. Had I been romanced by an artificial intelligence-generated Romeo? I would never know – but I had a strong suspicion that I was. Profiles like Roland's are becoming more common – and more deceptive. With the rise of generative AI, it is no longer far-fetched to wonder if I am flirting with a bot. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Over 600 Telegram groups in Singapore selling, advertising vapes removed by HSA Singapore 2 weeks' jail for man caught smuggling over 1,800 vapes and pods into Singapore Singapore Jail for man who fatally hit his daughter, 2, while driving van without licence Sport 'Like being in a washing machine with 40 deg C water': Open water swimmers brave challenging conditions Singapore Primary 1 registration: 38 primary schools to conduct ballot in Phase 2A Singapore ComfortDelGro to introduce new taxi cancellation, waiting fee policy Business Cathay Cineplexes gets fresh demands to pay up $3.3m debt for Century Square, Causeway Point outlets Singapore Countering misinformation requires both laws and access to trusted news sources: Josephine Teo One dating app has moved to stamp out fake dating profiles. On June 9, Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) started using Singpass authentication to verify its local users. The one-time verification process involves the CMB app retrieving users' NRIC number or Foreign Identification Number, date of birth, marital status and gender from government records. With Singpass verification, users like me gain rare certainty in a world of fakes: that the person I'm chatting with is who they say they are – not married, not lying about their age, and not some bot. That can only rebuild trust in an increasingly complex digital world, where tricksters with nefarious purposes have more advanced tools to obfuscate their identities. A Bloomberg story in 2024 found that fraudsters are using AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini to create fake dating profiles. In recent times, it is also becoming increasingly common to see profiles with pictures that are either a little too perfectly edited or look AI-generated. I hesitate to swipe on such profiles – I am not sure if someone is leveraging AI to bolster their attractiveness; or if a scammer or bot is behind such accounts. Even without AI, fake and misleading accounts have been a problem on dating apps. When I first downloaded dating apps three years ago after I was fresh out of a decade-long relationship, I was ready for awkward first dates, rejection and even ghosting. Instead, I found married men with blurred profile pictures looking for a one-night stand, scammers impersonating popular local influencers, and supposed rich Chinese businessmen a little too eager to promote their investments. My friend was shattered when she eventually discovered that a man she had been seeing from a dating app for three months was in fact six years older than he claimed, and was married. A YouGov survey published in February 2024 found that three-quarters of Singaporeans have never used a dating app before. When asked why, 27 per cent said that they were concerned about fake or misleading dating app profiles. Apart from CMB, other major dating apps commonly used in Singapore have some way to go towards addressing this concern. OkCupid, Hinge and Tinder will match a user's recorded video selfies along with their profile pictures. But this only proves a person's identity, and does not verify age or marital status. As at June 10, Bumble has allowed for identity verification with Government-issued IDs in Singapore, but the move is optional. In contrast, CMB users who choose not to verify their identities with Singpass authentication risk losing out on connections because verified users have the option to filter out unverified profiles. This elevates CMB above its competitors, further bolstering its reputation as a dating app for those looking for a serious relationship. The benefits of CMB's move go beyond restoring trust and confidence in dating apps. More crucially, it helps to promote safety. CMB's head of trust and safety Rachel Tee previously told ST that with government-backed verification, the platform will be able to significantly reduce the number of scam profiles that require manual moderation. This means that CMB will have more bandwidth to deal with more serious cases such as harassment, inappropriate messages or even offline misconduct. I have heard many anecdotal accounts from friends who have received unsolicited nude images from people they met on dating apps. Another had to deal with constant calls and messages from a man who could not handle rejection. There are also more serious cases that have gone before the courts. In August 2024, 25 year-old Terrell See was jailed for threatening to distribute intimate videos of a woman he had received while they were chatting on a dating app. In November 2022, 25-year-old Sim Bing Rui was handed a jail term after he threatened to distribute explicit content of a teenager , after he created a fictitious persona on OkCupid and used it to trick her into engaging in a sex act with him. In cases of offline misconduct, victims may not have crucial information about their perpetrator, like their full name or NRIC, especially if they are meeting for a first date. With such information, CMB will be able to assist the police in their investigations. While some users may find the move excessive and have legitimate privacy concerns, they should keep in mind that the application is asking for four fields of basic information. CMB does not have access to all information about a person in government records, including address, educational qualification, or income level. This is a good balance struck between ensuring user safety and maintaining privacy. Of course, the platform must also do its part to ensure data privacy and cyber security to guard against data leaks. CMB's Ms Tee said the company employs robust cyber security measures and partners with cloud computing service Amazon Web Services to ensure that all information is stored within a secure, encrypted infrastructure. In an era when deception is easier than ever, holding users accountable is not just helpful – it is essential. For that alone, Singpass verification is a green flag. 10/10, I'd swipe right.
Straits Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Users need to scrutinise what data is shared through MyInfo
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox At least 1,000 digital services offered by government agencies and businesses are integrated with MyInfo. SINGAPORE - Like many banks and insurance firms, dating platform Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) uses government records to verify its users. CMB users authenticate themselves through Singpass to retrieve from MyInfo their NRIC or FIN number, date of birth, marital status and gender. The information is needed by CMB for verification purposes. According to data provided in 2023, more than 300,000 transactions are performed daily using MyInfo, a service that allows users to fill in digital forms with their personal data drawn from government databases. At least 1,000 digital services offered by government agencies and businesses are integrated with MyInfo. ST has contacted GovTech for updated numbers. GovTech requires companies to submit a 'user journey' document to show how the government digital services will be used. Companies that want to integrate their online services with Singpass' login function will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, according to Singpass' website. Companies are also advised not to request for more personal data than needed from MyInfo to carry out their services. 'This is aligned with the guidelines of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), which instructs the collection of personal data in an appropriate manner for the circumstances,' according to Singpass' website. 'Each request will be reviewed prior to approval.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore to hire 1,000 new educators annually in the next few years, up from 700 Singapore COE prices rise for all categories Business Temasek reports $45 billion rise in net portfolio value to $434 billion Business Singapore finance employers pledge 300 places for trainees and interns from polytechnics Singapore $43k fine for undischarged bankrupt doctor who failed to disclose assets worth over $4m Singapore Female primary school teacher allegedly committed sex acts with underage male student Singapore Goodbye fraudsters? Dating app Coffee Meets Bagel rolls out identity verification Singapore Pritam's appeal against conviction, sentence over lying to Parliament set for Nov 4 GovTech declined to specify how it assesses requests from companies and what due diligence is conducted to prevent the over-collection of data. In Singapore, the PDPA governs the collection and use of personal data. Users who have concerns about the ways their personal data is handled can lodge their complaints on the Personal Data Protection Commission's website . Users are advised they still need to scrutinise the type of information that they share via MyInfo. 'It generally is a good practice for users to be more aware about what they are acceding to before they consent to their data being shared,' said Mr Josh Lee, managing director (Asia-Pacific) at the Future of Privacy Forum and senior research affiliate at the SMU Centre for Digital Law. Many people are unaware of the risks of giving away too much personal information, said Nanyang Technological University (NTU) associate professor Hannah Yee-Fen Lim. Sensitive data that falls into the wrong hands can lead to harms such as fraud and identity theft. 'If they know the capabilities of data processing technologies, and how easily and how much harm can result, they may take a less cavalier attitude when giving away their own personal data,' said Prof Lim, who teaches courses on law and technology at NTU.
Straits Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Goodbye fraudsters? Dating app Coffee Meets Bagel rolls out identity verification
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The verification process involves retrieval of a user's NRIC, date of birth, marital status and gender. SINGAPORE - Dating app Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) has rolled out identity verification for its users in Singapore using government records to counter rising online scams and hidden marriages. Verified users will have the option to filter out unverified profiles from July 15 in what is a world first for CMB, The Straits Times has learnt. Users first authenticate themselves through SingPass, which is integrated with the CMB app. The one-time verification process will involve the CMB app retrieving users' NRIC or FIN number, date of birth, marital status and gender from government records. Confirming the move, CMB's head of trust and safety Rachel Tee said the platform is acting on feedback from its users to root out fake profiles. On June 9, it rolled out the verification feature using Singpass and MyInfo, a national digital vault containing citizens' personal data. 'We have since verified over 70 per cent of our user base in Singapore in a month and we continue to encourage more users to verify their profiles,' she added. User feedback came from a survey CMB conducted in June 2025 with 972 users aged 18 and above. It found that three in four users in Singapore had encountered a fake profile, catfisher or scammer, pointing to widespread concerns about trust in digital dating. A catfisher is someone who creates a false or misleading persona to build romantic relationships. The top concerns identified by users polled were fake profiles, scams and hidden relationships. The majority of people polled wanted more robust verification measures for identity (81 per cent) and marital status (65 per cent). 'By offering government-backed verification, we are able to significantly reduce the number of scam profiles that require manual moderation,' said Ms Tee. This will then free up resources within CMB to respond to user reports of harassment, inappropriate messages or offline misconduct, she said. Through identification, CMB will also be able to work closely with law enforcement to take action against bad actors. In April, 0.29 per cent of CMB's users complained about scammers and fake accounts on its platform, among other problems, but this has dropped to 0.21 per cent in June after it started to verify users' identity, she said. CMB did not disclose the size of its user base. It is also not known how many users complained last year. Although users who are married will not receive a verified badge, their accounts will still show up on the pages of people who had not opted to view only verified accounts. 'We understand that navigating marital status can be deeply personal and sometimes complicated. For example, a person may be undergoing separation or divorce which may span a few years,' said Ms Tee. Four other major dating platforms - Bumble, Hinge, Tinder and OkCupid - also rolled out some form of identity verification in recent years , but the measure has remained optional. For instance, Bumble started letting Singapore users verify their identities by uploading government-issued IDs on the week of June 10. The same feature has been rolled out in at least 11 other countries like Australia, Canada and France since March 2025. A Bumble spokesman said that the launch of its ID verification is part of the company's commitment to build a safe online space for people to find love. It uses an Estonia-headquartered third party identity verification service Veriff, to match a user's selfie with the picture on the uploaded ID card. The data is retaine d for up to 72 hours. Hinge, Tinder and OkCupid' s way of verifying users involve letting them upload their recorded video selfies along with their profile pictures. Many dating app users support CMB's move, but some said it could be excessive. A 21 year-old national serviceman who only wants to be known as Martin said that he had friends whose pictures were used without their knowledge on dating apps. 'Compulsory Singpass verification on dating apps could be an effective way to reduce fake accounts and prevent identity misuse,' he said. A 28 year-old public relations officer, who only wants to be known as Adeline, said: 'Simply knowing that the person you're speaking to is verified provides peace of mind and helps build trust from the very first interaction.' An aviation industry staff who only wants to be known as Ralph, 29, said that sharing highly sensitive information such as NRIC on a dating app seems excessive, and raises serious privacy and security concerns. 'The information could be exploited for identity theft, scams, or other malicious purposes. The risk simply outweighs the benefit in this case,' he said, noting that CMB could be hacked. Assuring its users, Ms Tee said that the company employs robust cybersecurity measures and partners with cloud computing service Amazon Web Services to ensure that all information is stored within a secure, encrypted infrastructure. Data collection and usage also strictly adheres to the requirements of the Personal Data Protection Act. 'We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill legitimate business purposes and to comply with applicable legal obligations,' said Ms Tee. Dr Chew Han Ei, senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, said that identity verification is crucial to build trust online. 'If CMB follows through, they'll be one of the first dating apps to use a government-based identity check. That protects users and frankly, it protects the company too,' he said.
USA Today
02-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Collin Murray-Boyles: Raptors sign 9th overall pick to rookie contract
Signed and official. CMB is locked in. 🖊️ South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles, the ninth pick in the 2025 NBA draft, signed his rookie-scale contract with the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, the team announced. Murray-Boyles was named to the All-SEC second team, averaging 16.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks on 58.6% shooting as a sophomore. He was the first Gamecocks player since Jimmy Foster in 1983-84 to average at least 16 points and eight rebounds in a season. He will make $6,332,520 next season, according to Spotrac. The 6-foot-7 forward led the conference in field-goal percentage and ranked 21st nationally. He was the only player in a Power Four conference to average at least 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block on 50% shooting from the field. Murray-Boyles established himself as a lottery pick at South Carolina because of his defensive intensity, post presence and ability to make plays for others. He boasts a 7-foot wingspan that enables him to protect the rim and force turnovers. The 19-year-old added a 3-point shot this past season, with inconsistent results after converting 9 of 34 from beyond the arc. The lefty has a smooth stroke and made it a point of emphasis throughout the predraft process to showcase his potential as a floor spacer. Murray-Boyles is expected to suit up with the Raptors as they play at least five games in the NBA Summer League, beginning on July 11 against the Chicago Bulls (8 p.m. EDT, NBA TV).
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers see the 1st stars dispel darkness 13 billion years ago at 'Cosmic Dawn'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Astronomers have used ground-based telescopes for the first time to peer back 13 billion years in time to observe the universe when the first stars first lifted the cosmic darkness. This period, around 800 million years after the Big Bang, is known as "Cosmic Dawn," and it remains one of the most mysterious and important periods in the evolution of the universe. This new glimpse of Cosmic Dawn comes courtesy of the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS), an array of telescopes located high in the Atacama Desert region of Northern Chile. The primary mission of CLASS is to observe the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), a cosmic fossil left over from an event just after the Big Bang. "People thought this couldn't be done from the ground. Astronomy is a technology-limited field, and microwave signals from the Cosmic Dawn are famously difficult to measure," team leader and Johns Hopkins professor of physics and astronomy, Tobias Marriage, said in a statement. "Ground-based observations face additional challenges compared to space. Overcoming those obstacles makes this measurement a significant achievement." Prior to around 380,000 years after the Big Bang, the infant universe would have seemed like a pretty dull place, visually at least. That is because during this period, light was unable to travel freely due to the fact that photons were endlessly scattered by free electrons. This situation changed when the universe had expanded and cooled enough to allow electrons to bond with protons and create the first neutral atoms of hydrogen. Suddenly, photons were free to travel unimpeded through the cosmos as the universe instantly went from transparent to opaque. This "first light" is seen today as the CMB. When the first stars formed, their intense radiation ripped electrons from neutral hydrogen once again, an event called "reionization," turning the universe dark again during an epoch known as the "Cosmic Dark Ages." The signal from Cosmic Dawn hunted by CLASS comes from the fingerprint of the universe's first stars within the CMB. This comes in the form of polarized microwave light around a million times fainter than standard cosmic microwaves. As you may imagine, after travelling to us for 13 billion years and more, the light from Cosmic Dawn is extremely faint. Trying to detect this polarized microwave light from Earth is extremely difficult because it is drowned out by natural events such as atmospheric changes and temperature fluctuations, as well as being obscured by human-made signals like radio waves, radar and satellite signals. Thus, this cosmic radiation is usually only hunted from space by satellites like NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and the European Space Agency's Planck space telescope. That was until CLASS. The team behind this new research compared data from CLASS with observations from Planck and WMAP. This allowed them to identify sources of interference and hone in on a signal from polarized microwave light in the CMB. Polarization describes what happens when waves are oriented in the same direction. This can happen when light hits an object and scatters off it. "When light hits the hood of your car and you see a glare, that's polarization. To see clearly, you can put on polarized glasses to take away glare," said team member Yunyang Li, who was a PhD student at Johns Hopkins and then a fellow at the University of Chicago while this research was being conducted. "Using the new common signal, we can determine how much of what we're seeing is cosmic glare from light bouncing off the hood of the Cosmic Dawn, so to speak." What this team specifically aims to measure with CLASS is the probability of a photon from the CMB encountering an electron ripped free of neutral hydrogen by the universe's first stars and being scattered. Doing this should help scientists better define signals from the CMB and the initial glow of the Big Bang, thus enabling them to paint a clear picture of the infant cosmos. "Measuring this reionization signal more precisely is an important frontier of cosmic microwave background research," WMAP space mission team leader Charles Bennett said. "For us, the universe is like a physics lab. Better measurements of the universe help to refine our understanding of dark matter and neutrinos, abundant but elusive particles that fill the universe. "By analyzing additional CLASS data going forward, we hope to reach the highest possible precision that's achievable." Related Stories: — How dark energy could relieve 'Hubble tension' and galaxy headaches — Hubble trouble or Superbubble? Astronomers need to escape the 'supervoid' to solve cosmology crisis — 'Our understanding of the universe may be incomplete': James Webb Space Telescope data suggests we need a 'new cosmic feature' to explain it all This new research is built upon earlier work that saw CLASS map 75% of the night sky over Earth as it makes precise measurements of the polarization of the CMB. "No other ground-based experiment can do what CLASS is doing," said Nigel Sharp, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Astronomical Sciences, supporter of CLASS since 2010. "The CLASS team has greatly improved measurement of the cosmic microwave polarization signal, and this impressive leap forward is a testament to the scientific value produced by NSF's long-term support."The team's research was published on Wednesday (June 2) in The Astrophysical Journal.
