Prudential Singapore policyholders, you might want to check your bank statement now.

Prudential Singapore complaints

Numerous Prudential customers in Singapore have taken to Facebook to complain about automatic deductions being made from their bank accounts that are 100 times the original sum.

These deductions were made on May 24, 2018.

For example, a S$100 deduction became a S$10,000 figure.

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Operational lapse

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has confirmed that the erroneous deductions from their bank accounts are an operational lapse and not a cyber attack.

MAS said in its statement on Thursday that it has directed Prudential and its payment bank, Standard Chartered Bank Singapore to return the customer funds without delay, to keep customers updated, and to investigate the root cause of the incident.

MAS said: "We take a serious view of such operational lapses and will take follow-up supervisory measures where appropriate.”

Prudential said they will investigate the matter and refund any interest lost.

"We have investigated the matter and found that this is due to a technical error," said a Prudential spokesperson.

"This was not a cyberattack. We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused."

OCBC Bank first to respond

OCBC Bank was the first banks to address the issue with its customers.

OCBC Bank issued a statement on its Facebook page on May 24, at 10.10pm, saying the erroneous transactions have been reversed:

Dear customers, we have rectified the accounts of those who were affected by an error in GIRO deduction requests by Prudential. Customers who were affected should already see the erroneous transactions reversed in their bank accounts.

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