On Tuesday, Singapore introduced a new law that allows police to freeze the bank accounts of scam victims as a “last resort” to prevent further financial losses. This measure is aimed at protecting individuals who are at risk of transferring money to scammers, withdrawing funds to give to fraudsters, or using credit facilities to benefit criminals.
Under the new law, police can issue restriction orders to banks if they believe that freezing an account is necessary to protect a victim. The law applies to individuals who may be at risk of making payments to scammers or engaging in fraudulent activities. Factors like whether the victim has already sent money to a scammer or is still in contact with the fraudster will be considered before issuing the order.
The restriction orders are temporary, lasting for 30 days, and can be extended up to five times if necessary. If the situation improves, the order can be lifted. The law applies by default to Singapore’s seven major retail banks, including OCBC, DBS, UOB, Maybank, Standard Chartered, Citibank, and HSBC, although other banks may also be included if needed.
Sun Xueling, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, emphasized the importance of acting quickly to protect victims and minimize financial losses, which in some cases could involve their entire life savings. She stated that restriction orders should be imposed or lifted within hours, not days, to ensure fast action.
However, Sun also noted that authorities could not intervene indefinitely. If a victim continues to make transfers to scammers after the maximum restriction order period, the responsibility would fall on the individual.
The Ministry of Home Affairs also mentioned that if scammers begin to exploit platforms like cryptocurrency exchanges, remittance companies, or e-wallet providers, the government may expand the restriction orders to include these services as well.
In the first half of 2024, Singapore recorded 26,587 scam cases, with total losses amounting to S$385.6 million (US$283.34 million). This follows a record loss of S$660.7 million in 2022 and S$651.8 million in 2023, highlighting the growing threat of scams in the country.
