WILESTARS, a story-and-learning project based in Japan, has released a song called Before You Click. For anyone in Singapore whose phone keeps lighting up with messages that want a tap before a think, it offers a short and catchy way to learn what to check first.
The project describes itself as connecting stories with learning. Its method, Affinity English, starts from the urge to understand a favourite character or lyric. WILESTARS uses that urge to teach English, and to help with everyday cybersecurity decisions, so a song about phishing links fits the brief neatly. Original story, concept and educational design by Manabu Tokimoto.
Four Checks, One Chorus
According to WILESTARS, Before You Click draws attention to four things to check before opening an unexpected email or link:
- The sender: who the message is really from.
- Urgent language: wording designed to rush you.
- The destination address: where the link actually leads.
- Official channels: a way to confirm the message on your own terms.
None of the four needs special software. The urgency check matters most, because a scam message that rushes you is hoping you’ll skip the other three. Setting the checks to music has an obvious appeal, since a chorus tends to stick around longer than a bullet point does.
Japan Keeps Flagging Phishing
The topic is pressing in Japan too. The Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA) publishes an annual list of the top ten information security threats to individuals. In its 2026 handbook, phishing-based theft of personal information appears for the eighth year in a row, after first making the list in 2019.
The IPA’s advice goes beyond what fits in a song. Its handbook says to ignore and delete unexpected emails and SMS messages instead of trying to judge whether they’re real. It suggests bookmarking the sites you visit often and opening them only from those bookmarks. It also warns that real-time phishing can get past two-factor authentication: once a victim types a one-time password into a fake site, an attacker can use it at the same moment. So treat the song as a memory aid, and pair it with those habits.
The Singapore Version
Here, the fourth check has a local shortcut. ScamShield lets you check suspicious messages, numbers and links through its app or website, and the ScamShield Helpline is 1799, open 24 hours a day. Singapore guidance adds that government SMSes use the gov.sg sender ID, and that you should never share your Singpass details or one-time passwords with anyone.
The song is not a Singapore government product. It teaches the same pause that local scam advice asks for, though: stop, look at who sent it, and confirm the message somewhere the sender doesn’t control.
Try It Before Your Next Tap
Listen to the track on the Before You Click song page, then read how the method works on the Affinity English page. After that, the next “act now” message in your inbox gets four checks and a 1799 call before it gets a click.
Photos and Visuals courtesy of WILESTARS.
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