Forum: Restriction orders to protect scam victims will be temporary and a last resort
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We thank Forum writers V. Balu (Have trusted family members rather than police manage scam victims’ money, Nov 19) and Peter Yan (Proposed Bill the right measure to protect scam victims, Nov 19) for their views on the Protection from Scams Bill.
As pointed out by Mr Balu, a staggering amount of money has been lost to scams. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is particularly concerned about scams involving self-effected transfers, where individuals willingly transfer monies to scammers. This made up 86 per cent of all scam cases in the first half of 2024. Such scams include love scams, investment scams and government official impersonation scams. Scammers exploit basic human emotions like love or fear, and spend considerable time grooming their victims. Some of the victims have lost their life savings.
The police have also observed that some victims were so taken in by the scammers that they refused to believe their family members, bank staff and even the police, and insisted on transferring monies to the scammers. Police intervention is necessary to protect them from further losses, as Dr Yan highlighted.
MHA agrees with Mr Balu on the need to respect individual autonomy, but this should be weighed against the harm to such individuals. The losses are suffered not only by the individuals themselves, but impact also their family. If the police have reasonable belief that an individual intends to transfer monies to a scammer, they should have the powers to intervene and try to prevent further harm to the individual.
Restriction orders will be imposed only on a temporary basis and as a last resort, when all other measures to convince the individuals, including engagements by their family members, have been exhausted. The police will work with their family members to support them.
We agree that safeguards by the banks are equally important. MHA has worked with banks to implement stronger anti-scam measures, such as money lock and kill-switch, and co-locating bank staff with the police at our Anti-Scam Command to enhance detection and response. A whole-of-society approach is key in our fight against scams.
Ng Li Sa (Dr)
Director/Policy Development Division
Ministry of Home Affairs
