Preventing Scams and Money Mules in Singapore Through Behavioral Intelligence

With S$1.1 billion lost to scams in 2024, Singapore’s banks are at a critical juncture in the fight against scams. Measures like malware-resistant banking apps and scam number blocking have not stemmed the rising tide.

The imperative for change

Banks need to act now, before regulators are forced to step in, costing the banks dearly in the long run. Behavioural biometrics may offer a groundbreaking approach to combatting scams. This technology analyses a user’s unique behavioural patterns—how they type, swipe, and interact with their devices—to detect anomalies that could indicate fraudulent activity.

A game-changer approach to stopping scams

Behavioural biometrics transforms scam detection by:

• Spotting mule accounts: Detects unusual activity for faster intervention.
• Preventing real-time fraud: Flags suspicious transactions as they happen.
• Strengthening authentication: Adds a behavioural layer for greater security.
• Minimising false alarms: Focuses on individual behaviour for accuracy.

Learning from others

Australia, facing a similar situation, acted proactively and has seen significant declines in scam losses by adopting behavioural biometrics with major banks.

National Australia Bank CEO Andrew Irvine says: “We’ve added tooling that looks at biometrics and the way you actually interact with your devices and how you think about keystrokes. If these things are different to how you’ve used your phone in the past, our intelligence will kick in.”

He says Australia is one of the few countries where bank fraud has decreased, attributing this success to the bank’s proactive measures against fraud.

Act Now or Pay Later

There is an opportunity for Singapore to learn from Australia’s success before regulators intervene with potentially stricter regulations and financial repercussions.

Join us 15 April at this roundtable from FutureCISO and BioCatch where we will cover:

• Difficulty in keeping pace with fraudster tactics.
• High regulatory compliance costs.
• The business and operational value of behavioural biometrics and advanced analytics as fraud detection and prevention strategies.

By acting now, banks can mitigate scam losses, secure the bottom line now, and safeguard customer trust.