Digital banks now account for a growing slice of scam and fraud complaints in Singapore, even as traditional banks continue to face similar risks.
Fresh figures provided to The Straits Times by the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (FIDReC) show that online-only lenders are handling more cases as customers fall victim to Compromised Credentials and Impersonation Scams.
FIDReC received 94 scam and fraud claims involving the five licensed digital banks from January to August 2025, already more than double the 42 cases recorded in all of 2024.
Losses for the eight-month period reached S$2.5 million.
The affected institutions are Trust Bank, GXS Bank and MariBank, which serve retail customers, as well as ANEXT Bank and Green Link Digital Bank, which focus on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
While digital bank disputes remain a minority within the broader financial sector, their share is rising.
Such claims accounted for 2.1 percent of all industrywide complaints in 2023 and 4.8 percent in 2024, climbing to 8.7 percent as at the end of August 2025.
FIDReC noted that scams made up 84 percent of digital bank cases, with service standards comprising 11 percent and practices or policies representing 5 percent.
AI-driven scams are getting harder to spot
Industry analysts told The Straits Times that digital banks rely entirely on apps and websites, creating more opportunities for scammers to strike with phishing links, malware or fabricated messages.
They added that traditional banks face similar exposure since most transactions now take place online.
Many victims are targeted when they are distracted or under pressure, and the growing use of artificial intelligence and deepfakes has made impersonation attempts far more convincing.
The sector has expanded its safeguards in response. Under the Shared Responsibility Framework, banks, telcos and customers each have defined obligations to reduce scam losses, and the authorities can restrict transactions under the Protection from Scams Act if they suspect active fraud.
Another safeguard introduced on October 15 allows banks to delay transfers when accounts with at least S$50,000 in deposits experience steep outflows.
If more than half the balance moves out within a day, subsequent transfers may be held for 24 hours or blocked.
Digital banks have introduced additional controls. They use real-time monitoring systems, round-the-clock support and alerts that disrupt high-risk transactions.
Some prompt customers to verify unfamiliar recipients, while others offer fund-locking features that prevent large withdrawals without further checks.
Their newer technology stacks also enable faster deployment of countermeasures as scam patterns evolve.
Banks and police ramp up joint response
Customers remain a critical line of defence. Banks urge users to avoid unfamiliar links, verify anyone requesting financial information and notify their bank immediately if they detect transactions they did not authorise.
Industry groups also emphasise the need for stronger sharing of fraud intelligence across institutions to help spot emerging threats early.
Collaboration has intensified at the Singapore Police Force’s Anti-Scam Centre, where seven banks now station staff to support rapid account-freezing and fund-recovery operations.
The participating institutions are DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, UOB, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, CIMB and GXS Bank, which joined the effort earlier this year.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user6724086 via Freepik
