More than 9,800 potential scam victims alerted in joint operation between S'pore police and six banks

The coordinated operation which took place for two months between May 1 and June 30. - Photo: ST

SINGAPORE: The police’s Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) and six banks have alerted more than 9,800 bank customers to prevent the loss of over S$47 million.

In a statement on Friday (July 5), the police said it partnered with DBS Bank, UOB Bank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC Bank, and GXS Bank for the coordinated operation which took place for two months between May 1 and June 30.

During this time, ASC officers and the partnering banks sent over 13,984 SMSes to over 9,810 potential scam victims who are customers of the banks.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology was used in the coordinated operation to detect potential victims of job, investment, fake friend call, and e-commerce scams.

RPA technology uses bots or artificial intelligence to analyse data to identify patterns, anomalies, and trends that may indicate fraud.

This technology streamlined the processing and sharing of information, the police said.

Once suspicious activity was detected, the police and banks were able to quickly intervene and notify the receivers through text messages so that they could cease further monetary transfers.

The early detection of potential scam victims resulted in the successful disruption of over 2,805 ongoing scams.

The police encouraged the public to protect themselves against scams by adding security features such as two-factor authentication on their electronic devices and banking apps, checking for signs of scams, and informing the authorities and others about any ongoing scams.

“If it is too good to be true, it is probably untrue, and a scam,” the police said. - The Straits Times/ANN