SINGAPORE – To better protect Central Provident Fund (CPF) members from scams, a default online CPF withdrawal limit of $2,000 a day will be in place from Nov 30 for all members aged 55 and older.
If CPF members wish to change the daily default limit, they can go online at any time to adjust it to any sum between $0 and $200,000.
However, increasing the daily withdrawal limit will be possible only with Singpass face verification, and there will be a 12-hour cooling period to prevent unauthorised adjustments, said the CPF Board in a statement on Nov 20.
Those who wish to disable online withdrawals entirely can activate the CPF withdrawal lock, which will set the daily withdrawal limit to $0. This will mean that withdrawals can be made only in person at CPF service centres.
To enable online withdrawals again, members must increase the daily withdrawal limit with Singpass face verification, and wait 12 hours for it to go through.
Singpass face verification and the 12-hour cooling period will also be required when members update their contact details with the CPF Board from Nov 30.
By end-December, changes to bank account details will be subject to Singpass face verification, where new bank accounts will be activated only after the bank confirms that the account belongs to the member. This will take up to two working days.
The move to introduce a daily limit for online withdrawals is part of efforts “to safeguard CPF savings against fraudulent withdrawals online”, said the statement.
It added: “CPF members can be assured that their CPF savings can only be paid to bank accounts that are verified as belonging to them. They will also be notified immediately of any CPF withdrawals.”
Notifications via SMS or e-mail will be sent to CPF members whenever they make a withdrawal, update the daily withdrawal limit, or update their contact or bank account details.
Members are advised to contact the CPF Board if they suspect they have fallen prey to a scam involving their CPF savings. They should also get their bank to immediately freeze their bank accounts, reset their Singpass password and set their CPF daily withdrawal limit to $0.
They should also make a police report immediately, the statement said.
“While these precautionary measures may cause some inconvenience for CPF members, we seek their understanding that it is better to be safe than sorry, especially in today’s environment,” said the CPF Board, which added that it will “continually review measures to achieve a right balance between convenience and security”.
The police in a statement in June said at least two Android users lost $99,800 of their CPF savings to scams involving malware that month.
The victims’ ages were not provided. CPF members can withdraw some of their savings when they turn 55, and receive monthly payouts under the CPF Life scheme when they reach the eligible age, which is currently 65.
