SINGAPORE – More than 8,700 bank customers were spared financial losses of approximately $73 million during a two-month operation involving six major banks and the police’s Anti-Scam Centre (ASC). From Nov 1 to Dec 31, 2024, ASC officers and the banks employed robotic process automation technology to detect likely scam victims and thwart ongoing scams, according to a police statement on Jan 8. The collaboration resulted in the disruption of over 1,444 ongoing scams.
About 13,000 SMS alerts were sent to potential victims, warning them about transfers to suspicious accounts and advising them to cease further transactions. The alerts covered scams such as job fraud, investment schemes, fake friend calls, and e-commerce scams.
“Upon receiving the SMSes, most victims would realise that they had fallen prey to a scam and would come forward to lodge a police report,” the police noted.
The six participating banks—DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered, HSBC, and GXS—have been part of six joint anti-scam operations with the police in 2024. These collaborations collectively disrupted more than 13,000 scams, protected over 55,600 potential victims, and safeguarded more than $420 million.
The police emphasized the importance of remaining vigilant against scams and lauded the collaboration as a significant step in protecting citizens from financial fraud.