Over S$46 million in potential scam losses averted in joint operation by police, banks
More than 3,300 SMS alerts were sent to over 2,700 bank customers identified as potential scam victims.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) and five major banks, including DBS, UOB, OCBC, Standard Chartered Singapore, and GXS, collaborated on a two-month operation that disrupted over 400 scam attempts and saved more than S$46 million (US$38 million) in potential losses. The Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) utilized robotic process automation technology to send 3,300 SMS alerts to over 2,700 bank customers suspected to be scam victims.
The operation, which took place between July 1 and August 31, focused on investment and job scams, where victims were tricked into making multiple incremental transfers as part of fraudulent online job or investment arrangements. The police reported that 16,821 scam cases were reported in the first six months of 2026, a 14.4% decrease from the same period in 2025.
Investment scams caused the largest financial losses, with S$169.8 million lost across 2,256 cases, while job scam cases fell 17.3% to 2,247 cases. About 80.8% of reported scams involved victims transferring money themselves, rather than scammers gaining control of their accounts.
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