The Protection from Scams Act 2025 (“Act“) came into effect on 1 July 2025. The Act enables the Police to better protect targets of ongoing scams by empowering the Police to issue Restriction Orders (“ROs“) to banks to restrict the banking and credit facilities of the scam target(“Individual“).
The key features of the Act are set out below.
- Issuance of RO: A Police officer may issue a RO to a bank if, following an assessment of the facts and circumstances of each case, the Police officer has reasonable belief that:
- 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
- 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: Individuals issued with a RO can expect the following banking facilities to be restricted:
- money transfers out of the bank accounts and into other accounts (e.g. online banking, mobile banking, PayNow, in person over the counter);
- ATM facilities; and
- all credit facilities (e.g. credit card transactions, access to personal loan facilities).
The RO will be issued by default to the seven Domestic Systemically Important Banks (“D-SIBs“) 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: 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: 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.
- Appeal mechanism: 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.
Click on the following links for more information:
- Protection from Scams Act 2025 (available on the Singapore Statutes Online website at agc.gov.sg)
- Ministry of Home Affairs (“MHA“) Press Release titled “Commencement of the Protection from Scams Act” (available on the MHA website at mha.gov.sg)
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