Protocols when Suspected Money Mule Activities are Flagged, and Incidence in Recent Years of Unauthorised Access to Phone Lines, Bank Accounts and Singpass
Ministry of Home AffairsSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the speed of flagging money mule activities and the effectiveness of facility restrictions for bank accounts, phone lines, and Singpass as raised by Mr Jackson Lam. Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam stated that the Anti-Scam Centre coordinates with co-located banks to freeze accounts within hours and works with telcos and GovTech to terminate scam-tainted facilities. He highlighted that industry partners utilize fraud analytics to proactively identify and block suspicious mule accounts and phone lines before they are successfully used for fraudulent purposes. Since the framework’s implementation in October 2025, approximately 1,200 individuals and 50 corporate entities have been placed under these restrictions to curb the facilitation of scams. These measures remain until case outcomes are finalized, with convicted or warned mules restricted for one year and repeat offenders facing restrictions for a duration of three years.
Transcript
33 Mr Jackson Lam asked the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) how quickly are suspected mule activities flagged once suspicious transactions occur; (b) how do Government agencies, banks and telecommunications companies coordinate responses; and (c) whether real-time alerts of such activities or automated freezes are being expanded.
34 Mr Jackson Lam asked the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs (a) over the past two years, how many individuals suspected of money mule activities have had access to phone lines, bank accounts or Singpass restricted; (b) how effective have these restrictions been in preventing reoffending; and (c) how long do such restrictions typically remain in place.
Mr K Shanmugam: When a scam is reported, the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) coordinates closely with banks to quickly trace where the monies have been transferred to and freeze those bank accounts, to prevent the monies from being siphoned out of Singapore. Staff from seven major banks are co-located with ASC, enabling real-time coordination and response. Typically, ASC is able to freeze accounts within a day and, in some cases, hours. The ASC also works closely with telecommunication companies (telcos) to terminate scam-tainted phone lines, and with GovTech to investigate and stem the misuse of Singpass accounts for scams.
Suspending such facilities only after they have been used for scams is not enough. The Police work with industry partners to use fraud analytics to proactively detect mule activities. For example, the major retail banks deploy fraud analytic tools to identify and freeze potential mule accounts, and the telcos proactively block local phone lines suspected to be misused for scams.
The Member asked if facility restrictions have been effective to prevent re-offending. We see positive early results but will need more time to assess given that the framework was only implemented from October 2025. To date, about 1,200 individuals and 50 corporate entities have been placed under these restrictions. Persons under investigation for mule-related offences and assessed to be at risk of further facilitating scams, as well as those prosecuted for such offences, will be subject to facility restrictions until the case outcome is determined. Mules who have been warned, issued composition sums or convicted, will be subject to restrictions for one year, or three years for repeat offenders.