Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs is opening consultations on new rules that would empower the police to order banks to restrict the banking transactions of people who refuse to believe that they are being scammed.
The new Protection from Scams Bill is set to be introduced in the coming months. It aims to give the police more power to stop people sending money to scammers, even when they have been warned by the authorities, family and friends that that they are being scammed.
This generally happens in cases of internet romance scams or impersonation scams.
The MHA says that in the first half of 2024, 86% of reported scams involved the voluntary transfer of monies by the victim to the scammer.
Restriction Orders (ROs)will only be issued for scams that are conducted solely via digital or telecommunication channels and not for in-person interactions where it is often unclear at the outset as to whether a criminal offence has been commited.
Says the MHA: "ROs will only be issued if the police have reason to believe that the individual is being targeted by a scammer and may make transfers to the scammer within the foreseeable future, and after other options to convince the victim have been exhausted and have failed."