While the situation with scams gets worse every year, the authorities are now preparing to take intrusive measures to fight against this scourge.

With the Protection from Scams Bill introduced in Parliament on November 11, Singapore could soon be the first in the world to give police the power to monitor the bank accounts of stubborn victims of scams, who insist that they are not being scammed, even if the evidence indicates that they are. are.

The bill proposes to allow the police to issue restriction orders (ROs) to banks which will then restrict banking transactions of an individual’s accounts.

These include money transfers, use of ATMs and all credit facilities, even affecting PayNow and in-person over-the-counter transactions.

Police said one of the biggest challenges they face is convincing people they are being scammed.

Police currently cannot stop a victim from doing whatever they want with their money, even if they are suspected of being scammed.

The number of scams reached record levels in the first half of 2024, with more than $385.6 million lost in 26,587 reported cases.

If the bill passes, police officers will be able to issue an RO to a bank if they believe the victim will transfer money to the fraudster, or if it is necessary to protect the victim.

It will be issued by default to the country’s seven major retail banks, namely OCBC, DBS Bank, UOB, Maybank, Standard Chartered, Citibank and HSBC, but may also be issued to other banks.

ROs will take effect for up to 30 days at a time, but can be extended up to five times, meaning they can last up to six months.

The police can cancel an RO before the 30-day limit if it is deemed that the person is no longer at risk of being scammed. Appeals against the RO can be lodged with the police commissioner whose decision will be final.

ROs will be issued only for scam cases involving cheating carried out largely through digital and telecommunication channels such as calls and SMS.

It will not cover traditional cheating cases that typically involve in-person interactions, such as those with errant remodeling contractors or family members and friends.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the RO will be issued only as a last resort, once other options to convince the victim of the scam have been exhausted.

Based on previous cases in which the police failed to intervene, the MHA said 10 or more ROs could be issued every month.

He adds that people subject to an OR will still have access to money for legitimate reasons, such as paying bills and purchasing basic necessities like groceries.

They can ask the police for access to a fixed amount of money, and can request access to more by presenting evidence such as their invoices.

In a speech at the police’s Clementi Division Roadshow 2024 on Nov 10, Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling said Singapore was losing about $2 million daily to scams.

Many anti-scam initiatives have been launched in recent years, including the “I Can ACT Against Scams” ​​campaign launched in 2023 by the National Crime Prevention Council and the Singapore Police Force.

Banks have also introduced a kill switch to allow customers to freeze their bank accounts if they suspect their accounts are compromised, as well as a money lock allowing customers to set aside money that cannot be transferred from their bank accounts via online means.

Despite all these measures, 86% of all scams reported in the first half of 2024 involved victims making voluntary transfers to fraudsters.

In these cases, the fraudsters did not have direct control over the accounts, but manipulated the victims into making the transfers.

Some of these victims were told by police, banks and family members that they had been scammed, but they insisted on making the transfers anyway.

Many of these scams were investment or identity theft scams, involving large sums of money.

The idea of ​​a more intrusive approach by authorities to tackle scams was first revealed in August, when the MHA said it was considering whether police officers should have the power to temporarily freeze bank accounts so that they would have more time to convince victims that they were victims. prey.

MHA said a public consultation on the Bill was conducted via the Reach website from August 30 to September 30 and through focus group discussions with representatives of different age groups.

More than 90 percent of those surveyed supported the bill and provided suggestions and comments which were taken into account where appropriate.

Some believed that individuals should take responsibility for their own actions instead of letting the government intervene in such personal decisions, and others worried that the new powers would be intrusive and abusive.

There were also suggestions to expand the scope of the RO to include cryptocurrency exchanges and remittance companies, with MHA saying it would review whether this was necessary in the future.

MHA said, “While the government will continue to step up its efforts, everyone must play their part to keep fraudsters at bay. »