More Than 9,800 Potential Scam Victims Alerted In Joint Operation Between Anti-Scam Centre And Six Partnering Banks

The Singapore Police Force's Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) and six banks leveraged Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology in a coordinated effort to detect victims of job, investment, fake friend call, and e-commerce scams. The detection of the victims allowed the Police and the banks to intervene quickly to notify the victims to scams so that they can cease further monetary transfers, thereby minimising potential financial losses. The participating banks include DBS Bank, UOB Bank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC Bank, and GXS Bank.

During the two-month operation conducted from 1 May 2024 to 30 June 2024, ASC officers and the banks sent more than 13,984 SMSes to over 9,810 potential scam victims who are customers of the banks. The upstream detection of these potential scam victims resulted in the successful disruption of over 2,805 ongoing scams and averted potential financial losses of more than $47 million.

RPA Technology

The adoption of RPA technology streamlined the sharing and processing of information, enable the Police to swiftly reach out to potential scam victims through SMSes. The SMS alerts notified the victims to the suspicious transfers which the scammers had instructed them to perform, and advised the victims to refrain from making additional transfers. Upon receiving the SMSes, most victims would realise that they had fallen prey to a scam and come forward to lodge a police report.

ACT Against Scams

The Police urge members of the public to "ACT" against scams. The ACT acronym outlines how members of the public can Add security features, Check for signs, and Tell the authorities and other about scams.

1. ADD - Add security features such as two-factor authentication for personal accounts, such as banks, social media, and Singpass accounts. Transaction limits for internet banking, including PayNow, could also be set up to limit the amount of funds that can be lost in the event of a scam.
   
   
2. CHECK - Check for potential signs of a scam by asking questions, fact-checking requests for personal information and money transfers, and verifying the legitimacy of online listings and reviews. Take the time to pause and check. If it is too good to be true, it is probably untrue, and a scam.
   
   
3. TELL - Tell the authorities and others about scam encounters by reporting to the bank or by filing a Police report. Tell others about ongoing scams and preventive steps they can take. Report the fraudulent pages and/or monikers to the respective platforms.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688. Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Anti-Scam Centre officer interacting with two of the co-located bank staffs from DBS and OCBC, during the two-month joint operation.▼