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South China Morning Post
02-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
Been scammed? In Singapore, police can now seize your bank account to halt transfers
Singapore police can now seize a person's bank account if there is proof that they are being scammed, according to legislation that came into force on Tuesday. The law, which was passed in January, allows authorities to halt bank transactions if there is compelling evidence an account holder is about to transfer money to a scammer, even if done so willingly. Previously, police were powerless to stop potential scam victims from transferring money even if it was clear they were being cheated. The restriction will see the individual's bank accounts, ATM access and credit facilities suspended, while still allowing them to withdraw funds for daily living expenses. The law 'enables the police to better protect targets of ongoing scams', the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on Monday. The restriction allows authorities to suspend a person's bank accounts, ATM access and credit facilities. Photo: AP 'The restriction order is necessary for the protection of the individual. [It] will be issued only as a last resort, after other options to convince the individual have been exhausted,' it added.
Malay Mail
01-07-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Singapore's anti-scam crackdown: Police can now freeze victims' accounts
SINGAPORE, July 1 — Singapore police can now seize a person's bank account if there is proof they are being scammed, according to legislation that came into force Tuesday. The law, which passed in January, allows authorities to halt bank transactions if there is compelling evidence an account holder is about to transfer money to a scammer, even if willingly. Previously, police were powerless to stop potential scam victims from transferring money even if it was clear they were being cheated. The restriction will see the individual's bank accounts, ATM access and credit facilities suspended, while still allowing them to withdraw funds for daily living expenses. The law 'enables the police to better protect targets of ongoing scams', the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on Monday. 'The restriction order is necessary for the protection of the individual. (It) will be issued only as a last resort, after other options to convince the individual have been exhausted,' it added. The restriction had a time limit of 30 days that could be renewed a maximum of five times. One example cited in parliament to support the law's passage was the case of a 64-year-old woman who was duped into parting with S$400,000 (RM1.3 million) by a supposed lover. So-called romance scams have ballooned into a massive criminal industry. Countries in East and South-east Asia lost an estimated US$37 billion to cyber fraud in 2023, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report. Data cited in Singapore's parliament during the debate on the law showed that 'self-effected transfers' accounted for 86 per cent of all scam reports and 94 per cent of losses from January-September last year. Eugene Tan, an associate professor of law at the Singapore Management University, told AFP in January that while the law could appear intrusive, the government saw scams as a 'social menace that imposes a burden on society and the victim's family'. — AFP
BBC News
01-07-2025
- BBC News
Singapore police can now seize bank accounts to stop scams
Police in Singapore can now seize control of a person's bank account and block money transfers if they suspect the person is being scammed, under a new law that kicked in on move is aimed at addressing a common issue faced by the police where victims often refuse to believe they are being scammed despite warnings, authorities have said. The law was passed earlier this year by lawmakers, though some members of parliament have described the measure as has seen a worsening problem with scams, which surged to a record S$1.1 billion ($0.86bn; £0.63bn) in 2024 in the island-state. Under the new Protection from Scams Act, the police can order banks to block a potential victim from making transactions if they suspect the person is being can also block a potential victim's use of ATMs and credit decision can be taken by a police officer even if the potential victim does not believe warnings that they are being scammed. The bank account owner will still have access to his funds for legitimate reasons, such as to pay for their daily expenses and bills, but can only use their money at the discretion of the police, according to Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).The MHA has said that a potential victim's bank account can be controlled by the police for up to 30 days at a time, with the option for a maximum of five extensions if more time is of the law have raised concerns over accountability and the possibility of abuse of power. In Parliament in January, some MPs suggested allowing citizens to opt out of the law, or giving people the option to nominate someone else to freeze their transactions instead of the proponents have said that the law is needed to stem the huge losses incurred by victims and to protect MHA said the decision would be based on the facts offered by the individual and family members. "The restriction order will only be issued as a last resort, after other options to convince the individual have been exhausted," it said in a number of reported scams in Singapore has grown from around 15,600 cases in 2020 to more than 50,000 cases in scams in Singapore include job and investment scams, and e-commerce fraud where users are duped into paying for items they never receive. Many are also increasingly falling prey to internet love scams, where fraudsters spend months building online relationships before tricking victims into sending new law is the latest anti-scam measure authorities have rolled out in Singapore. Since 2023, bank users can lock up a portion of money in their account so that they cannot be transferred digitally. Most banks also have an emergency "kill switch" that lets customers freeze their bank accounts immediately if they suspect it has been compromised.
Arab News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
India to count its population in 2027, after six-year delay
NEW DELHI: After a six-year delay, India is set to count its population in the 2027 census, the government said on Monday, as it prepares to also record caste data for the first time in nearly a century. One of the world's largest administrative undertakings, India's population census was originally scheduled for 2021, but has faced multiple delays — mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a gazette notification, declaring that the census 'shall be taken during the year 2027.' The ministry did not specify when the process of counting India's population — currently estimated at nearly 1.46 billion — would begin, but the process of house listing and enumeration is set to be complete before March 1, 2027, for most of the country, and by Oct. 1, 2026, for snow-bound and remote regions such as Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. The last census was conducted in 2011 and provided critical data for planning welfare schemes, allocating federal funds, and drawing electoral boundaries. In 2027, for the first time since 1931 — when India was still under British colonial rule — caste details will be collected as well. India's caste system, which is rooted in Hindu scriptures, historically divided the population into a hierarchy that dictated people's occupations, living areas, and marriage prospects based on their family of birth. While originally a Hindu practice, many non-Hindu communities in India also identify with certain castes today. For centuries, those in the lowest ranks of the hierarchy have faced marginalization and social restrictions. After gaining independence from Britain in 1947, India banned caste-based discrimination and created specific caste categories for affirmative action policies. 'Once you count the number of people of various castes, it is going to lead to a political empowerment because of those people who are underrepresented in politics, in elections, in jobs, in the private sector,' Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, political commentator and Narendra Modi's biographer, told Arab News. 'India's policy of reservations — which is otherwise known as positive discrimination in other countries like the US — is going to become more widespread and more systemic, and thereby it is going to lead to some amount of friction between various castes.' India has specific caste categories for affirmative action policies, reserving up to 50 percent of government jobs and educational seats for marginalized groups. The census containing caste details may lead to altering the rate, as the number of lower caste Indians is much higher. 'We hope that they will be getting better representation. And other political parties will also have to give due weightage to people from these castes, which are not represented. So even in politics, you'll have tickets being distributed to people from other castes,' Mukhopadhyay said. 'This is going to be the next wave of political empowerment of the existing underprivileged and underrepresented castes and communities.' Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government announced in April that counting castes in the upcoming census will 'ensure that our social fabric does not come under political pressure' and 'that society becomes stronger economically and socially.' But the idea to include it came from the opposition, which for the past six years has been demanding that caste details be included in the census. The most vocal advocate of it has been Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress Party and Modi's key rival. The census is likely to provide information that will not only inspire social change but may also impact the political scene, which has been dominated by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party since 2014. 'If there is one thing that can really counter communalism and majoritarian politics it is the caste. Rahul Gandhi picked up the caste census issue quite late, but he made it a point by raising the issue,' said Ambarish Kumar, political analyst and host of a news analysis show. 'If you look at any field, the small demography of upper castes dominates almost every field … The caste census is an attempt to address this grave anomaly. The caste census will bring the marginal communities into the focus of the government policies which are not there.'
Times of Oman
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Population Census 2027 to be held in two phases along with enumeration of castes
New Delhi: The central government on Wednesday announced that the Population Census-2027 will be conducted in two phases and will also include the enumeration of castes. Opposition parties accused the government of further delaying the nationwide enumeration exercise. The Ministry of Home Affairs made the announcement in a statement, mentioning that the census will follow different reference dates depending on the region, in accordance with logistical and climatic factors. "It has been decided to conduct Population Census-2027 in two phases along with the enumeration of castes," the statement said. Reacting to the announcement, Congress said that the government was further delaying the already late census. DMK alleged that the census would be held after the proposed delimitation and that there was a plan to reduce Tamil Nadu's Parliamentary representation. According to the MHA statement, the reference date for the "Population Census-2027 will be 00:00 hours on March 1, 2027, for most parts of the country." However, for the Union Territory of "Ladakh, and the non-synchronous snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be 00:00 hours on October 1, 2026.' The government has also indicated that a notification of intent to conduct the census, adhering to the above-mentioned timelines, will be published in the Official Gazette on June 16, 2025. This will be done under Section 3 of the Census Act, 1948, which governs the legal framework for the decennial census exercise in census, due in 2021, was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Census 2027 is slated to be one of the most comprehensive data-gathering exercises undertaken by the Indian government. Census of India is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, last Census of India was conducted in 2011 in two phases, namely i) Phase I - House Listing (HLO) (1 April to 30 September 2010) and (ii) Phase II - Population Enumeration (PE) (February 9 to February 28, 2011) with reference date - 00:00 hours of the first day of March 2011, except for snow-bound non-synchronous areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh for which it was conducted during September 11 to 30, 2010 with reference date as 00.00 hours of the first day of October 2010. Census 2021 was also proposed to be conducted in two phases in a similar manner with phase I during April-September 2020 and second phase in February 2021. All the preparations for the first phase of the Census to be conducted in 2021 were completed and field work was scheduled to begin in some States/UTs from April 1, 2020. However, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic across the country, the census work was postponed. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X that there is really no reason to delay the Census, which was due in 2021, for another twenty-three months. 'The Modi Government is capable only of generating headlines, not meeting deadlines,' he said. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the Indian Constitution mandates that delimitation must follow the first Census after 2026. 'The BJP has now delayed the Census to 2027, making their plan clear to reduce Tamil Nadu's Parliamentary representation. I had warned about this. It is now unfolding,' he said in a post on X. He also hit out at AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami.
