Protection from Scams Bill passed to empower Police to issue restriction orders to banks to restrict banking transactions of scam targets
On 7 January 2025, the Protection from Scams Bill (“Bill”) was passed in Parliament.
The Bill empowers specified officers, including Police officers and Commercial Affairs officers, to issue Restriction Orders (“ROs”) to banks to restrict the banking transactions of an individual, if there is reason to believe that he will make money transfers to a scammer, withdraw any money and give it to a scammer, or apply for or draw down from any credit facility with the intention of benefitting a scammer. This will enable the Police to have more time to engage and convince the individual that he is being scammed, including through enlisting the help of his family members. An RO will only be issued as a last resort, if all other efforts to convince the individual have failed.
More details as explained by Sun Xueling, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development, at the second reading of the Bill are set out below.
Scope of Bill
Definition of scammer
When it was first introduced, the Bill defined a scammer as a person who “has interacted with the scam victim substantially via remote communication”, for the purposes of committing or facilitating the commission of a scam offence.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (“MHA”) has since filed a notice of amendment to remove the word “substantially” from the definition and to remove the words “conducted remotely” from the long title of the Bill.
The policy intent in introducing the power to issue ROs is primarily to protect victims from remote scams. However, the Police have observed some cases where scammers introduce elements of physical interaction to strengthen the deception. These amendments will remove ambiguity over whether ROs can be issued in such cases.
Issuance and effect of RO
The Bill empowers a specified officer to issue an RO to a bank. The RO will direct the bank not to execute any banking transaction from an individual’s bank account, and not to allow any draw-down of credit facilities.
While an individual who is subject to an RO will have his bank accounts, ATM facilities, and credit facilities suspended, the individual will be provided access to his monies for daily living expenses.
Operationally, the RO will be issued to the seven Domestic Systemically Important Banks (“DSIBs”), which account for the vast majority of consumer bank accounts in Singapore. The RO will also be issued to a non-DSIB bank if there is reasonable suspicion that the victim will effect transfers to a scammer from a non-DSIB account or withdraw money from it to give it to a scammer.
The following threshold must be crossed before an RO can be issued:
- The specified officer must have reason to believe that the individual will transfer money to a scammer, withdraw money and give it to a scammer, or apply for draw down from a credit facility with the intention of benefitting a scammer; and
- The specified officer must determine that the RO is necessary for the protection of the individual.
With the removal of the word “substantially” from the definition of a scammer, the legal power to issue ROs would technically extend beyond remote scams to more traditional cheating cases, which involve mostly physical interactions and where the other party is known to the individual in real life. Traditional cheating cases are more complex and require deeper investigation to establish if there is indeed an offence, and the threshold to issue ROs in such cases will be higher. A specified officer will only issue an RO in an exceptional case when there is clear and incontrovertible evidence that a relevant offence is disclosed. Similarly, the specified officer must determine that the RO is necessary for the protection of an individual.
The decision to issue an RO will be made solely by the Police after a holistic assessment of the facts and circumstances of each case. While the wishes of the individual and his family members may be taken into consideration, the Police will make the final decision.
Safeguards
The Bill, in striking a balance between protecting an individual from further harm and not unduly inconveniencing him, puts in place four sets of safeguards:
1. An RO will be issued only if necessary for the protection of the victim. Hence, an RO is issued as a last resort after the Police have explored other options available for protecting the victim.
2. An RO is limited to a maximum of 30 days at the outset. This provides assurance that the restrictions will not be imposed for longer than is necessary to protect the individual, yet giving the Police sufficient time to further engage the individual and his friends or family members and gather further evidence. The individual may also be referred to a counsellor or a social service agency for support.
The RO may be cancelled ahead of the 30-day limit if the specified officer assesses that the individual is no longer at risk of making money transfers to the scammer. The RO may be extended for up to 30 days at a time, up to a maximum of five extensions, if the specified officer assesses that more time is required to persuade the individual. The initial RO and five potential extensions will have a maximum duration of 180 days. After this, the RO must lapse and will not be extended further, even if the victim is still at risk of transferring more money to the scammer.
3. A specified officer may vary the RO temporarily to allow the individual to have access to the money in his bank accounts. For example, upon application by the individual, a specified officer may allow him to withdraw money for the purposes of daily living, or to pay medical bills or insurance premiums.
4. The Bill provides for an appeal process so that an individual can appeal against the issuance of an RO to the Commissioner of Police, whose decision will be final.
Background
MHA conducted a public consultation on a draft version of the Bill from 30 August 2024 to 30 September 2024. The Bill was subsequently introduced for first reading in Parliament on 11 November 2024. More information is available from our articles “MHA consults on proposed Protection from Scams Bill empowering Police to issue restriction orders to banks to restrict banking transactions of scam targets” and “Protection from Scams Bill introduced to empower Police to issue restriction orders to banks to restrict banking transactions of individuals”.
Reference materials
The following materials are available on Singapore Statutes Online sso.agc.gov.sg and the MHA website www.mha.gov.sg:
