SCAMS REMAIN a detestable hazard of life around the world, especially for seniors. Parliament this week (7 Jan) heard the sad example of a 64 year old lady who lost $400,000 to an online love scam.
“Despite attempts by the police and her family to convince her that she was being scammed, she continued to make money transfers to the scammer,” said Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling.
The new Protection from Scams Bill has been passed to help the growing number of such scam victims in Singapore. This is especially since 86% of all local scams involve transactions that were initiated by the victim.
“This Bill empowers specified officers, including police officers and commercial affairs officers, to issue a Restriction Order — or RO — to banks to restrict the banking transactions of an individual,” said MOS Sun.
This RO issuance will happen when there is reason to believe that the scam victim will give money to a scammer. It is a measure of last resort, expires after 30 days, and extendable up to five times.
“The intent is to buy the police more time to engage and convince the individual that he is being scammed, including through enlisting the help of his family members,” said MOS Sun.
PAP MPs emphasise compassion and protection for scam victims

Source: Yip Hon Weng / Facebook
Our MPs raised questions to the government about the Bill, based on real-life cases from Singapore’s neighbourhoods.
MP Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang SMC) spoke up for seniors who are not tech-savvy. He wanted to make sure the Bill works as intended for them.
“Many seniors in Yio Chu Kang don’t even use smartphones. If their account gets blocked, how can they appeal?” he asked.
“What about those who struggle to explain their case in writing? Shouldn’t they get a chance to speak, especially for complex cases?” he added, referring to how the Bill seemingly supports appeal decisions based on documents alone.
MOS Sun responded that officers should exercise due diligence and need to ensure that these account restrictions are properly assessed.

Source: Sharael Taha / Facebook
Meanwhile, MP Sharael Taha (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) shared about having compassion for a 60 year old lady in his ward.
This lady had been sending money repeatedly, and stubbornly — over $50,000 — to love scammers, and was in desperate financial straits after taking family loans.
“I propose that the default position should be to ensure individuals affected by an RO have immediate access to sufficient funds to sustain their daily living,” said MP Sharael. “This will provide a safety net while investigations are ongoing.”
“The MHA [Ministry of Home Affairs] shares the desire to minimise inconveniences for the affected individual,” responded MOS Sun. “Upon application by an individual to the police, he will be allowed to withdraw a fixed sum of money which will be reasonable and sufficient for basic sustenance, including their bill payments.”
Notably, the scam victim will have to show proof of need each time he or she files a request.
“This is to avoid the risk of scammers exploiting this mechanism to obtain monies from the individual,” said MOS Sun.
Parliament passed the Protection from Scams Bill swiftly. It is more legal recourse for the PAP government to keep Singaporeans from being victimised by financial fraud — and to build trust in new technology, no matter one’s age.