Bolstering the security of digital banking
Measures to bolster the security of digital banking
19 January 2022
MAS and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) introduced a set of additional measures to bolster the security of digital banking, in view of the rise in SMS-phishing scams that targeted bank customers. The stringent measures included: (i) removing clickable links in emails or SMSes sent to retail customers; (ii) setting the default threshold for funds transfer transaction notifications to customers to S$100 or lower; (iii) a delay of at least 12 hours before activation of a new soft token on a mobile device; (iv) notification to existing mobile number or email registered with the bank whenever there is a request to change a customer’s mobile number or email address; (v) additional safeguards, including a cooling-off period before implementation of requests for key account changes such as in a customer’s key contact details; (vi) dedicated and well-resourced customer assistance teams to deal with feedback on potential fraud cases on a priority basis; and (vii) more frequent scam education alerts. The measures sought to immediately strengthen banks’ controls against the growing threat of online phishing scams, while longer term preventive measures were being implemented.
- Minister for Finance and Deputy Chairman of MAS Lawrence Wong's Ministerial Statement, "Bolstering the Security of Digital Banking", delivered on 15 February 2022
- MAS and ABS joint media release, published on 19 January 2022, on the introduction of measures to bolster the security of digital banking
MAS and ABS announced further measures to provide an additional layer of security to protect customers’ funds
2 June 2022
MAS and ABS announced further measures to further safeguard consumers from digital banking scams. These include: (i) requiring additional customer confirmations to process significant changes to customer accounts and other high-risk transactions identified through fraud surveillance; (ii) setting the default transaction limit for online fund transfers to S$5,000 or lower; (iii) providing an emergency self-service “kill switch” for customers to suspend their accounts quickly if they suspect that their bank accounts have been compromised; (iv) facilitating rapid account freezing and fund recovery operations by co-locating bank staff at the Singapore Police Force Anti-Scam Centre; and (v) enhancing fraud surveillance systems to take into account a broader range of scam scenarios.