Bank officer’s sharp eye saves retiree from $700k scam at UOB Raffles Place

To Azlinah Amin, the day started like any other, amid customers flocking to the United Overseas Bank's (UOB) main branch at Raffles Place because of good gold prices in April this year, a peculiar interaction with one stood out to her.

"A male retiree came into the bank to enquire about buying 5kg worth of gold," shared the branch service manager.

But what set off red flags were his next moves, and thanks to the quick action of Azlinah and her colleagues they managed to stop a transaction of almost $700,000 being lost to a gold scam.

Speaking to AsiaOne at the National Crime Prevention Centre (NCPC) Appreciation Dinner and Crime Prevention Awards Ceremony on Tuesday (Oct 7), Azlinah shares how empathy helped eased a customer and stopped him from becoming a victim of a crime.

Spotting red flags

Azlinah recalled how the customer then took photos of the bank and reported it to someone on a messaging app. As photography within the bank was not allowed, she politely informed the customer that he could not take any more photos.

It was at this instance she saw the chat log that the customer had, with a profile that used the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) logo as its display photo. Sensing that something was amiss, she clarified with the customer if he believed he was speaking to a MAS representative.

While doing so she maintained her calm demeanour and probed into why he was talking to a MAS officer on a messaging app, and why he had to report his location to them.

It was then Azlinah told the customer that he could have been talking to a false MAS officer, his expression immediately turned dark.

She also let the customer into an empty room, for him to cool down and process the situation. At the same time, her team worked to lock his funds using the UOB TMR App, making sure that no other transaction could happen while he was in the bank.

Worrying that the customer may resort to rash actions due to anxiety, she made sure she stood by him and provided a listening ear as he vented about the situation.

"To me, it was not about preventing the scam, but [it was also for] the wellbeing of the customer," she shares.

Thanks to the quick thinking of her and her team, the customer eventually was convinced that he was part of a government impersonation and gold scam. He then quickly filed a police report and thanked the branch staff for their swift intervention.

Battling scams at the front line

Thanks to the S.P.O.T Framework that Azlinah picked up in training, she could calmly identify the transaction as a scam.

The S.P.O.T framework equips UOB bank branch staff to Sense, Probe, Observe and Take Action.

It also helped that her manager had reminded everyone to flag up big transactions of gold, even as the prices were at its best.

The customer's request for 5kg of gold was higher than a normal transaction - which could be around 100g to 1kg worth of gold. To put it into perspective, 5kg of gold is roughly $700,000.

Even as the potential victim started blaming himself and calling himself stupid for falling for such a scam, Azlinah continued to console him and assure him that his funds are safe.

"As a financial provider, our job is to reassure the customer and provide empathy," adds Azlinah.

UOB, along with four other companies, was also recognised for their anti-scam measures at the NCPC Appreciation dinner, where they were given the Champion award for Crime Prevention.

Making sure that their frontline staff will be the first line of defence against scams, the mandatory training helped foiled financial crimes against vulnerable individuals.

Acknowledging how this magnificent effort was achieved through shared responsibility, Chairman of the NCPC, Gerald Singham, reminded the crowd that the Awards are "a testament to active partnerships and the positive impact these organisations have made on the community.".

He said, "We hope that by showcasing these efforts, we can inspire even more individuals and businesses to join us in fostering a shared responsibility of preventing crime."

kimberly.foo@asiaone.com