Sg Anti-Scam Centre and Banks Successfully Stop Scams to Avoid S$186,000 in Losses

The Anti-Scam Centre of Singapore (ASC), in conjunction with DBS Bank and UOB Bank, successfully stopped two scams in April this year, averting losses totaling S$186,000 for victims.

In one of the cases, a 64-year-old man attempted to transfer S$98,000 to a corporate account. DBS's Anti-Scam team quickly suspended the transaction and the elder's bank account after noticing the anomaly.

When the bank staff asked the elderly man to verify the transaction, he refused and insisted on transferring the money. The bank then reported the case to the ASC.

Anti-Scam Centre contacted the victim by phone, but he was hostile and would not disclose any information. As result, the ASC went to the old man's residence.

After verifying to be real police officers to the elderly, he said that he was instructed by the "police officer" to initiate the transfer. In mid-March, the elderly received an unsolicited phone call from the "bank", the other side said that the elderly were suspected of money laundering and needed to be investigated. A "police officer" instructed him to transfer S$98,000 from inspecting his account to another account.

When the victim initiated the transfer a second time, bank staff recognized the anomaly and managed to prevent further losses.

In addition, the Anti-Scam Centre and UOB successfully intercepted a pig-butchering scam in which a 58-year-old victim attempted to transfer S$88,000 to her online friend. Her action caught the attention of UOB staff. The bank called the ASC as the victim did not want to disclose any further information.

ASC's investigation revealed that the victim had added a male online friend on Facebook late last year and the two had been in contact. He claimed to work for an Oil & Gas company. In March 2024, he asked for money from the victim as he needed "financial assistance for his ongoing projects". The victim had already transferred S$85,000 and attracted the attention of the bank when she was trying to initiate the second transfer.

In these cases, the vigilance and quick reaction of the bank staff played an important role. The banks worked quickly with the ASC to intercept the transaction and contact the victim, and succeeded in making the victim aware of the fact that they had been scammed.