JULY 1 – Police in Singapore can now seize management of an individual’s checking account and block cash transfers if they believe the individual is being scammed, underneath a brand new regulation that kicked in on Tuesday.
The transfer is geared toward addressing a typical subject confronted by the police the place victims usually refuse to imagine they’re being scammed regardless of warnings, authorities have stated.
The regulation was handed earlier this 12 months by lawmakers, although some members of parliament have described the measure as intrusive.
Singapore has seen a worsening downside with scams, which surged to a report S$1.1 billion ($860m; £630m) in 2024 within the island-state.
Police may block a possible sufferer’s use of ATMs and credit score providers.
The choice could be taken by a police officer even when the potential sufferer doesn’t imagine warnings that they’re being scammed.
The checking account proprietor will nonetheless have entry to his funds for reliable causes, corresponding to to pay for his or her each day bills and payments, however can solely use their cash on the discretion of the police, in keeping with Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The MHA has stated {that a} potential sufferer’s checking account could be managed by the police for as much as 30 days at a time, with the choice for a most of 5 extensions if extra time is required.
Critics of the regulation have raised issues over accountability and the opportunity of abuse of energy. In Parliament in January, some MPs instructed permitting residents to decide out of the regulation, or giving folks the choice to appoint another person to freeze their transactions as an alternative of the authorities.
But proponents have stated that the regulation is required to stem the massive losses incurred by victims and to guard them.
The MHA stated the choice could be based mostly on the details supplied by the person and members of the family. “The restriction order will solely be issued as a final resort, after different choices to persuade the person have been exhausted,” it stated in a press release.
The variety of reported scams in Singapore has grown from round 15,600 circumstances in 2020 to greater than 50,000 circumstances in 2024.
Common scams in Singapore embrace job and funding scams, and e-commerce fraud the place customers are duped into paying for gadgets they by no means obtain. Many are additionally more and more falling prey to web love scams, the place fraudsters spend months constructing on-line relationships earlier than tricking victims into sending cash.
The new regulation is the newest anti-scam measure authorities have rolled out in Singapore. Since 2023, financial institution customers can lock up a portion of cash of their account in order that they can’t be transferred digitally.
Most banks even have an emergency “kill change” that lets clients freeze their financial institution accounts instantly if they believe it has been compromised.
