Singapore’s police are now able to seize bank accounts to protect residents from financial scams, under a new law.
The country’s Protection from Scams Act, which entered into effect on 1 July, allows police to order banks to block access to money transfers and ATMs for up to 30 days when they suspect the account owner has been scammed.
“The Act enables the Police to better protect targets of ongoing scams by empowering them to issue Restriction Orders to banks to restrict the banking and credit facilities of the individual, if there is reasonable belief that the individual will make money transfers to scammers, withdraw any money with intention of giving the money to a scammer, or apply for or draw down on any credit facility with the intention of benefitting a scammer,” according to Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs.
Police can also issue restriction orders without the bank account owner’s consent. Account owners can continue to use their funds for daily expenses.
"The RO [restriction order] will be issued only as a last resort, after other options to convince the individual have been exhausted,” wrote the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The law has been criticised for its invasiveness. “One may be uncomfortable specifically with how the bill grants law enforcement an enormous amount of latitude to intervene and restrict what is ultimately a private transaction,” opposition member of Parliament Jamus Lim said before the bill passed.
Victims of financial scams in Singapore lost SG$1.1 billion (A$1.3 billion) in 2024, a record high. Scam reports also reached a new high, with 51,501 cases, according to the country’s police.
E-commerce scams were the most common in Singapore last year, while investment scams led to the largest financial losses.
Almost 25% of these scams involved cryptocurrency, a jump of around 18% from the previous year.
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