Police & banks in S'pore to work towards freezing scammers' accounts within a day

And other ways the authorities are working with both public and private sector organisations to combat scams.

Nigel Chua | March 01, 2021, 06:50 PM

Desmond Tan, Minister of State for home affairs, spoke in Parliament today (Mar. 1) about a new collaboration between the police and banks to protect victims from scammers.

Aimed at reducing the amount of money lost to scams, the police and banks will work together to freeze bank accounts suspected to be involved in scammers' operations.

In most cases, Tan said, the freezing can happen within a day.

This is a "big step forward" Tan said, as such tasks used to take between 14 to 60 working days.

Tan said that he has asked banks if they can work together with the authorities to reduce the turnaround time even further.

The collaboration has been named Project FRONTIER, which stands for Funds Recovery Operations and Networks Team, Inspiring Effective Resolutions.

Over 20 financial institutions are involved, Tan said.

Tan, who chairs the Inter-Ministry Committee on Scams (IMCS), said this during the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Other anti-scam collaborations

Tan also mentioned other areas where the authorities are working with both public and private sector organisations to combat scams.

Taking scammers down on Facebook and e-commerce platforms

Tan said that e-commerce scams remained the most common type of scam in 2020.

He said that IMCS was working with digital platforms like Facebook and e-commerce sites to combat these scams.

The authorities are working with e-commerce platforms such as Carousell, Lazada, Shopee, Qoo10, and Amazon on areas such as improving seller verification and increasing the use of secured payment modes.

Government exploring all options including new legislation

These efforts are not just limited to collaborations.

Tan said that the government is considering all options to address e-commerce scams, and spoke about how other countries have started to explore making it a legal requirement for industry players to secure e-commerce transactions.

He raised the example of the EU Commission, which in Dec. 2020 proposed a Digital Services Act (DSA) to better regulate the digital space, including online platforms and intermediaries.

Blocking spoof calls and scam websites

The authorities will also work with telcos and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to block spoof calls and scam websites used by overseas scammers, said Tan.

He added that the Ministry of Communications and Information would elaborate further later this week, during its Committee of Supply debate.

Not just elderly victims

Government action aside, Tan also stressed the role of the broader community in defending against scams.

Citing a survey by MHA, Tan said that in 2020, almost half of all scam victims were between 20 and 39.

Tan also spoke in Mandarin, addressing the general public and advising them on best practices to protect themselves from scams.

Encouraging vigilance, he warned, "everyone can potentially be a victim."

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Top image from photos by @eduschadesoares on Unsplash and by Nigel Chua