Singaporean exposes frustrating gaps in DBS’ scam reporting system

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean has shed light on the arduous process of reporting a scammer through DBS’s platforms, raising concerns about the efficiency and responsiveness of the system.

In a Facebook post on Monday evening (16 Jan), Vignesh KR shared his attempt to inform DBS about a possible scammer exploiting a genuine DBS account for illicit activities. However, his endeavour to report the issue turned into a frustrating experience as he navigated through the bank’s automated systems.

Revealing that he tried to inform DBS about a possible scammer using a real DBS account for receiving payments, Mr Vignesh said that his attempt to submit information led him to a chatbot, which initially timed him out as he struggled to fit the submission template.

Even after completing the submission, he received an auto-response indicating that a response might take up to three days. This delay, he argued, could potentially result in more individuals falling victim to the scammer.

Expressing concern for others, Mr Vignesh called upon the public to be cautious and encouraged them to verify the identities of individuals associated with suspicious activities.

He specifically mentioned a DBS account holder, Tay Meng Han, whose account was allegedly used by a scammer. Mr Vignesh even offered to share the mobile number, confirmed by DBS, belonging to Tay Meng Han for identity verification purposes.

Mr Vignesh also identified another individual, Brian Vady, whom he suspects is from Malaysia. Brian Vady allegedly manipulated or created a false Facebook profile named Jessica Wong. This fictitious account reportedly attempted to receive payments through Tay Meng Han’s DBS account.

The concerned Singaporean said, “I will go back home now and share this story with my kids, so that they continue to understand that anyone rushing you to make an urgent decision (even if just to send a small downpayment so that they may ‘secure’ your intended purchase) is never doing it to help you.”

Urging Singaporeans to remain aware and cautious, he asked the Singapore Police Force to investigate this issue.