1. The Protection from Scams Act 2025 (the "Act") was passed by Parliament on 7 January 2025 and will come into effect on 1 July 2025.
2. The Act enables the Police to better protect targets of ongoing scams by empowering them to issue Restriction Orders to banks to restrict the banking and credit facilities of the individual, if there is reasonable belief that the individual will make money transfers to scammers, withdraw any money with intention of giving the money to a scammer, or apply for or draw down on any credit facility with the intention of benefitting a scammer.
Restriction Orders
Issuance of RO
3. The decision to issue a RO will be made by a Police officer, based on an assessment of the facts and circumstances of each case. The Police may consider relevant facts provided by the individual or his family members in making the decision.
4. A Police officer may issue a RO to a bank if he has reasonable belief that:
(a) The individual will execute a money transfer to a scammer, withdraw any money with intention of giving the money to a scammer, or apply for or draw down on any credit facility with the intention of benefitting a scammer; and
(b) The RO is necessary for the protection of the individual. The RO will be issued only as a last resort, after other options to convince the individual have been exhausted.
Scope of RO
5. Individuals issued with a RO can expect the following banking facilities to be restricted:
(a) Money transfers out of the bank accounts and into other accounts (e.g., online banking, mobile banking, PayNow, in person over the counter);
(b) ATM facilities; and
(c) All credit facilities (e.g., credit card transactions, access to personal loan facilities).
6. The RO will be issued by default to the seven Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) in Singapore. These are the major retail banks which manage most of the consumer deposits in Singapore. The RO can also be issued to a non-DSIB, should there be reasonable suspicion that a non-DSIB account is directly involved, i.e. the individual will be transferring money from a non-DSIB account to a scammer.
Access to Funds
7. The individual will have access to his monies for legitimate reasons (e.g., daily expenses, pay bills). Requests for access to funds will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, upon the individual’s application to the Police.
Duration of RO
8. A RO will be in effect for a maximum of 30 days at a time. If more time is required to put in place the necessary intervention measures, the Police may extend the RO for up to 30 days at a time, up to a maximum of five extensions.
9. Where the Police assess that the individual is no longer at risk of being scammed, the RO can be cancelled ahead of the 30-day limit.
Appeal Mechanism
10. An individual who is the subject of a RO, or any joint account holder of the individual’s bank account, can appeal to the Commissioner of Police against the decision to issue a RO. The RO will remain active pending the outcome of the appeal. The decision of the Commissioner of Police is final.
11. Details of the appeal procedures can be found in the Protection from Scams Regulations 2025. For more information on the Act, please refer to the Annex.
[1] These include both Police officers and Commercial Affairs officers appointed under Section 64 of the Police Force Act.
[2] The seven D-SIBs are: (a) DBS Bank, (b) Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, (c) United Overseas Bank, (d) Citibank, (e) Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, (f) Malayan Banking Berhad, and (g) Standard Chartered Bank.
[3] For example, the Police may need more time to gather evidence to persuade the individual, engage the individual’s next-of-kin for assistance to persuade the individual, or persuade the individual to adopt the necessary banking safeguards, among others.
Annex – Information on the Protection from Scams Act 2025
