In a remarkable display of dedication and quick thinking, a pregnant bank employee in Singapore, Fionice Teoh, helped prevent a 70-year-old woman from losing over $200,000 to a scam. The incident occurred on December 24, 2024, when the woman, who was being coached by a scammer over the phone, attempted to withdraw $190,000 in cash from a DBS bank branch. Teoh, who was 38 weeks pregnant and on one of her final shifts before maternity leave, suspected that the woman was a scam victim and alerted the bank’s anti-scam team.
Despite being verbally abused by the woman for almost two hours, Teoh remained calm and professional, reminding herself that her job was not just about transactions, but also about protecting vulnerable customers. The woman’s behavior raised several red flags, including her agitation, inconsistent stories, and refusal to make eye contact. Teoh suggested that the woman return the next day, buying time for the bank’s anti-scam team and the authorities to intervene.
Deputy Superintendent Benedict Ng from the police’s Anti-Scam Centre visited the woman’s home that night and discovered that she had already withdrawn $12,000 from another branch and was about to hand it over to the scammers. The scammers had convinced her that they were banking personnel and law enforcement officers, and that they needed to examine her cash as part of a money laundering investigation. Ng spent about an hour convincing the woman that she was a victim of a scam, and she was eventually relieved to learn the truth.
The incident highlights the importance of vigilance and quick action in preventing scams. Teoh and Ng’s efforts helped the woman avoid losing her life savings, and she later returned to the bank to thank them with a bag of chocolates. The case also underscores the need for the public to be aware of the dangers of scams and to take steps to protect themselves, such as using security features like the ScamShield app and verifying the identity of callers or senders.
In Singapore, scams have resulted in losses of over $4 billion since 2020, with government official impersonation scams being a common type of scam. Laws have been passed to cane scammers, with a maximum of 24 strokes depending on the severity of the offence. Banks and financial institutions are also working to strengthen their defenses and enhance their security tools to empower customers to bank safely and with confidence.