Tough love to help scam victims who refuse to help themselves

The move to control bank accounts of stubborn potential scam victims may look like overreach, but it's the last resort to protect them.

- Ben Chester Cheong

Scams in Singapore are costing their victims a staggering $2 million daily, but here is the frustrating part: Some scam victims refuse to accept they are being scammed and continue emptying their bank accounts despite compelling evidence of fraud.

The authorities are considering extraordinary legal measures to protect these stubborn scam victims.

The Protection from Scams Bill, introduced in Parliament on Nov 11, proposes granting the police unprecedented powers to control the bank accounts of such scam victims.

To some, such measures may appear overly tough, but then scams are rising at an alarming rate. The first half of 2024 saw a record 26,587 reported scam cases, resulting in losses exceeding $385.6 million.

The police have identified one of their most significant challenges as convincing individuals that they are indeed victims of scams.

Currently, law enforcement is powerless to prevent victims from transferring money to scammers, even when all signs point to fraud.

Despite numerous anti-scam initiatives launched in recent years, such as the "I can ACT against scams" campaign and the introduction of a kill switch and money-lock feature by banks, a staggering 86 per cent of all reported scams in the first half of 2024 involved victims voluntarily transferring funds to scammers.

These cases often involve investment or impersonation scams, where scammers manipulate their victims into making transfers, even when warned by the police, banks and family members.

Should the authorities be empowered to help such delusional victims who refuse to help themselves? I would argue that there is no other option.

UNPRECEDENTED LEGAL MEASURES

The Protection from Scams Bill proposes authorising the police to issue restriction orders (ROs) to banks, enabling them to restrict the banking transactions of an individual's accounts.