Bank officer steps in to help man from losing life savings

When a man in his 60s transferred $70,000 to another bank account and wanted to withdraw the rest of his life savings of more than $600,000, a DBS Bank officer stepped in.

- Nadine Chua

Instead of providing a valid reason when the officer asked what it was for, the man grew agitated and refused to say much, which were immediate red flags.

Recalling the case which took place in September, Mr Uthayakumar Chellappan Silvaraju, a senior associate with DBS' anti-scam team, said he was determined to prevent the man from losing his life savings.

Mr Kumar said: "During the first two calls I had with him, he was evasive. On the third call, I asked him, 'Are you sure you want to risk your life savings you worked so hard for?'

"That was when he broke down and said he was doing this under someone's instructions, but he still refused to believe that he was being scammed."

The bank subsequently handed the case over to the police's Anti-Scam Centre (ASC).

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Timothy Ng, officer-in-charge at the ASC, said he suspected the man was a victim of a government official impersonation scam as his answers sounded coached and rehearsed.

"At first he was evasive, then he told me he wanted to withdraw his life savings and put them in an account with better interest rates.