Singapore Monetary Authority to Review Rising Card Scam Cases

Mr Wong revealed the rising number of cases when replying to Ms Yeo Wan Ling (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), who inquired about the increase in bank-related cyber scams in the past six months.

“While these cases represent less than 0.1 per cent of fraudulent online card transactions reported, and the number of cases has come down since March 2021, it is nevertheless concerning,” Mr Wong said.

He also added that banks are aware of the situation and have adopted a flexible approach to cater to the victims by offering waivers of the disputed amounts. MAS has also advised all banks to stay vigilant towards such frauds. 

Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information, Janil Puthucheary, also stated that efforts are also made to raise awareness among residents of various types of scams. 

Dr Janil stated, “the ministries and agencies involved will continue to monitor and are concerned about an increasing trend (in) attempted scam calls and spoofed calls using the +65 prefix.”

However, he pointed out the inconvenience this would cause legitimate Singaporean consumers that use roaming services and call home from overseas. 

This review makes up a part of a wide-scale anti-fraud plan that includes efforts to curb such frauds, including the expeditious blocking of known numbers used to perpetuate scams or detection of those attempting to spoof the numbers of Government agencies.

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