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SINGAPORE: In cases where potential scam victims refuse to believe they have been targeted and still insist on transferring money out, the police could be empowered to block such transfers.

New legislation has been proposed to allow the police to order banks to restrict a potential scam victim's banking transactions, including online banking, PayNow and automated teller machine (ATM) facilities.

This way, the police can better protect targets who refuse to believe they are being scammed, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a press release on Monday (Nov 11).

The Protection from Scams Bill was earlier introduced in parliament by Minister of State for Home Affairs and for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling.

In some scam cases, the victims had been told by the police, banks or family members that they were being scammed, but still proceeded with the money transfers, explained MHA.

“Currently, the police have no powers to stop the victims from transferring their monies to the scammers if they insist on doing so,” said the ministry.

MHA conducted a public consultation on the Bill through the REACH website from Aug 30 to Sep 30 this year. It also held focus group discussions with representatives from various age groups.

“Overall, respondents were supportive of the Bill and provided their suggestions and feedback on the proposals, which we have taken on board where appropriate,” said MHA.

SELF-EFFECTED TRANSFERS

Despite safeguards and extensive public education efforts, the number of scam cases in Singapore involving the voluntary transfer of monies by the victim to the perpetrator remains high, noted MHA. 

In the first half of this year, 86 per cent of reported scams resulted from self-effected transfers.

“The scammers did not gain direct control of the victims’ accounts, but manipulated the victims into transferring their monies to the scammers,” MHA explained.

The proposed law will give police the power to issue restriction orders to banks, to stop the transactions of individuals if there is reasonable belief that they will make transfers to a scammer.

It will involve the seven Domestic Systemically Important Banks (DSIB) here — DBS, OCBC, UOB, Citibank, HSBC, Maybank and Standard Chartered Bank — which manage most of the consumer deposits in Singapore.

“In determining the scope of the RO (restriction order), MHA has given due consideration to strike a balance between protecting the public from scams and maintaining a sense of personal responsibility,” said the ministry.

The decision to issue a restriction order will be made by a police officer, based on an assessment of the facts and circumstances of each case. This includes considering relevant input from the individual or family members.

“The RO will be issued only as a last resort, after other options to convince the individual have been exhausted,” said MHA.

Those subjected to the orders can appeal against them. The Commissioner of Police will make the final decision.

SAFEGUARDS IN PLACE

The proposed measure will not cover traditional cheating cases involving in-person interactions, such as transfers to an errant renovation contractor, or to a family member or friend.

A restriction order will prevent transfers to other bank accounts, including those via online banking, mobile banking, PayNow and those made over the counter. It will also block ATM facilities and all credit facilities, such as credit card transactions and personal loans.

The orders can also be issued to banks beyond the seven banks, should there be reasonable suspicion they are directly involved in the process of a scam, noted MHA.

Those subjected to restriction orders will still have access to money for legitimate reasons, such as daily living expenses and paying of bills, said MHA. These will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Each restriction order will last up to 30 days at a time but can be extended up to five times if the authorities deem it necessary, said MHA.

For example, the police may need more time to gather evidence to persuade the individual of the scam threat, engage the next-of-kin for assistance, or convince the individual to adopt necessary banking safeguards.

“Where it is assessed that the individual is no longer at risk of being scammed, the Police can cancel each RO ahead of the 30-day limit,” noted the ministry.