Bank account holders restricted for suspected scam mule activities not prevented from accessing daily expenses: Goh Pei Ming

A new anti-scam law passed in Parliament on Wednesday (Sept 9) will give the police powers to request service providers, including banks and telcos, to restrict or disable the accounts of suspected scam mules.

The Scams (Countermeasures) and Other Matters Bill was passed unanimously after a debate on the proposed measures, where several MPs raised concerns over its implementation.

One important point was whether affected bank account holders could have access to funds for their basic livelihoods, as well as if an expedited appeal mechanism would be introduced.

Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming said in his closing speech that individuals issued Account Disabling Orders (ADO) and Service Limitation Orders (SLO) can appeal to the police for lifting the orders.

He assured that such appeals will be accessed "fairly and as quickly as possible", and more details on the appeal mechanism will be shared later.

Under the new legislation, the police can direct a service provider to disable an account if they suspect or have reason to believe that an account is involved in furthering scams.

ADOs may last up to 30 days, with one possible extension of up to another 30 days.

Meanwhile, the police can evoke SLOs to request service providers to restrict individuals who are suspected to use the service to commit or facilitate scams.

First-time mules will generally face one year of restrictions, and the duration may stretch up to three years for repeat offenders or higher risk individuals, Goh said.

"I wish to reassure the House that we will not prevent individuals from accessing funds that they genuinely need for daily living," he stated.

He said individuals subject to banking restrictions under SLOs can still perform transactions by physically visiting the bank branch.

"We will only restrict access to self-service banking services like internet banking, mobile banking or ATM services, which are more prone to being exploited for scams.

"Incoming transactions, such as salaries and Government payouts, will continue to be processed as usual."

@asiaone Wrapping up the debate on the Scams (Countermeasures) and Other Matters Bill, Senior Minister of State Goh Pei Ming said that individuals subject to banking restrictions under the new orders may still transact personally at the bank over the counter. The Bill was eventually passed on Wednesday (Sept 9). #sgnews #Singapore #Parliament #Scams #Legislation ♬ original sound - AsiaOne

For bank accounts disabled under ADOs, individuals in need of the funds inside can apply to the police "for access to a reasonable amount of money" for daily and necessary expenses.

"We are also mindful that if the individual is a scam mule, the funds within the disabled account may in fact not belong to him, but to other scam victims," Goh added.

"Nevertheless, once the police assess that the individual should be allowed access to funds, the police will work with banks to enable this as quickly as possible."

The senior minister of state stressed that it is important to quickly and decisively disrupt scams and take a firm stance against scam mules through the Orders.

"The Orders enable us to constrict the supply of scam enablers and disable them before they can be used, and this is ultimately to protect our citizens," he said.

Goh said approximately $2 million was lost to scams every day in the first half of the year.

From January to June 2026, the police recorded a total of 16,821 scam cases, with losses collectively amounting to about $410.6 million.

This is an improvement from the same period in 2025, which saw 19,644 scam cases with total losses at about $500.2 million.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com