Singapore Considers Bill Allowing Police to Stop Transfers to Scammers

Singapore is considering a bill that would allow police to order banks to temporarily prevent people from sending money to scammers.

The country’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is seeking public comment on the proposed Protection from Scams Bill after seeing that some victims of scams voluntarily transfer money even after being warned by police, banks or family that they were being scammed, the MHA said in a Friday (Aug. 30) press release.

This commonly happens in cases of internet love scams and impersonation scams, according to the release.

“In the first half of 2024, 86% of reported scams were the result of self-effected transfers,” MHA said in the release. “The scammers did not gain direct control of the victims’ accounts, but manipulated them into transferring their monies to the scammers.”

While Singapore’s banks offer tools customers can use to protect themselves from scams — such as a “Kill-Switch” that lets customers freeze their bank accounts if they suspect they’ve been compromised and a “Money Lock” that allows them to set aside money that cannot be transferred by online means — police have no power to stop people from voluntarily sending money to scammers, the release said.

The Protection from Scams Bill would allow police to issue restriction orders (ROs) only in cases of scams conducted via calls, text messages or online communications; would cover money transfers and all credit facilities; and would allow ROs to be issued for 28 days at a time, per the release.

“ROs will only be issued if the police have reason to believe that the individual is being targeted by a scammer and may make transfers to the scammer within the foreseeable future, and after other options to convince the victim have been exhausted and have failed,” the MHA said in the release.

It was reported in 2020 that cyber thieves posing as Singapore government agencies and universities stole $749,000 worth of goods after tricking companies into delivering them. The victims of these purchase order scams received emails from senders identifying themselves as a procurement officer, agreed to send the items, and then received no payments.

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in May that it has been flooded with reports of impersonation scams in which consumers were taken in by scammers purporting to represent some of today’s leading companies. The scammers prompted consumers to share their credit card information to renew nonexistent service plans, resolve fake security breaches or deliver nonexistent sweepstakes winnings.

Online romance scams or confidence scams are also common. In these schemes, perpetrators create fake identities, gain the victim’s affection and trust, and then drain their bank accounts by requesting money.