Inspiration
In 2024, Singapore recorded over 55,000 scam cases, resulting in approximately S$1.1 billion in losses. Many of these scams begin in everyday chat groups on platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram. Alarmingly, in four out of five cases, victims voluntarily authorised the transfers after being misled by persuasive scam messages.
Despite frequent police advisories, residents still lack a fast, shared, and trusted way to verify dubious messages or broadcast warnings. This allows misinformation to spread unchecked—especially among seniors, new citizens, and less tech-savvy users.
We noticed that existing scam awareness tools are often too slow, too formal, or not user-friendly enough for the groups most at risk. That’s why we created VerifyLah!—a grassroots, community-powered solution that’s fast, inclusive, and easy to use.
What it does
VerifyLah! is a community-based scam verification platform where users can upload screenshots of suspicious messages. Other users then upvote or downvote the post based on their experience or knowledge. This creates a crowdsourced legitimacy signal, helping people assess whether a message is trustworthy at a glance.
Key Features: Image Uploads – Simple interface for submitting scam messages Voting System – Community-driven credibility ratings Real-Time Updates – Live vote counts and dynamic feedback
How we built it
We built VerifyLah! using: Python Flask – Backend web framework for handling routes and logic SQLite – Lightweight database for managing posts and votes
Challenges we ran into
Building a community tool around scam reports comes with unique challenges: Content Moderation – Preventing false reports, spam, and politically sensitive content Credibility Assurance – Making community votes helpful without replacing official fact-checking sources Legal & Privacy Risks – Managing personal data, defamation issues, and image handling securely Design for Seniors – Making sure the platform is easy to use for non-digital natives
Accomplishments that we're proud of
- Built a fully working prototype that supports image upload, voting, and real-time feedback
- Created a clean, accessible UI tailored for our target user groups
- Designed a scalable solution that can grow into a community tool for real impact
- Aligned the product with real-world government initiatives like ScamShield
What we learned
Scam awareness is a social problem as much as a technical one; trust and communication are crucial Simple tools can be powerful when they’re placed in the hands of the community Balancing freedom and moderation is a real challenge in crowdsourced platforms
What's next for maybe hack
Badging and trust scores for high-reputation users Multi-language support for new citizens and migrant workers Partnerships with community centres and government agencies to bring the platform to those most at risk Regional expansion to support communities in Malaysia, Indonesia, and beyond
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