If you have lost money to a scam, call your bank’s anti-scam hotline now and ask it to freeze your accounts. For DBS or POSB, that is 1800 339 6963, 24 hours. Then make a police report online or at Punggol Neighbourhood Police Centre, open 24 hours. Speed matters more than perfect notes.
Take one breath. Scammers fool careful, clever people every day, and acting quickly is the part you can still control.
This page is part of eduKate Punggol’s Essential Information for Punggol, our quick answers and where-to-go lists for everyday life in Punggol. It is for the hour after the money has gone: who to call first, how to freeze everything, what to put in your police report, and what recovery honestly looks like.
Quick answer
- First call, your bank: ScamShield’s advice is to contact your bank immediately, because it can act quickly to prevent further loss. Hotlines are in the table below.
- Freeze: use your bank’s Kill Switch in its app, or ask the hotline to do it. It freezes your current and savings accounts at once.
- Report: lodge a police report online any time, or in person at Punggol NPC, 151 Punggol Central. If you need urgent police help, call 999.
- Keep everything: screenshots, phone numbers, website addresses, transaction records and every reference number you are given.
- Advice line: ScamShield Helpline 1799, 24/7.
- Be on guard: ScamShield warns that scammers may come back pretending to be “authorities” to target you again.
Who to Call If You Have Lost Money to a Scam
Call the bank that sent the money first. If the scam touched more than one bank or card, call each of them. These are the anti-scam hotlines on ScamShield’s official list.
| Who | Number | Hours (checked October 2026) | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| DBS / POSB | 1800 339 6963 (from overseas +65 6339 6963) | 24 hours | You can also go to any DBS or POSB branch if you transferred money to a scammer. |
| OCBC | 6363 3333 | Not stated on the list | Press 8 to report fraud or temporarily freeze all your accounts and cards. |
| UOB | 6255 0160 | Not stated on the list | Check your bank’s own page for hours. |
| Citibank | 6337 5519 | Not stated on the list | As above. |
| CIMB | 6333 7777 | Not stated on the list | As above. |
| HSBC | 1800 472 2669 (from overseas +65 6472 2669) | Not stated on the list | As above. |
| Maybank | 1800 629 2265 (from overseas +65 6533 5229) | Not stated on the list | As above. |
| Standard Chartered | 6747 7000 | Not stated on the list | As above. |
| Police, online report | Lodge a police report | Any time | Allow about 30 minutes. Incomplete reports will not be considered. |
| Punggol Neighbourhood Police Centre | 151 Punggol Central, Singapore 828727. Tel 1800 604 9999. | 24 hours | Bring written notes of what happened. |
| Police self-help kiosk, One Punggol | ServiceSG Centre, 1 Punggol Drive #01-01, Singapore 828629 | Mon–Sat 9am–6pm. Closed Sundays and public holidays. | ServiceSG staff can help with the kiosk during centre hours. |
| ScamShield Helpline | 1799 | 24/7 | For scam advice. Our 1799 guide explains it. |
Numbers and hours were checked in October 2026 against ScamShield’s bank hotline list and the police contact pages. Confirm there before you dial, and only ever use numbers from official sources, never from a message you received.
Your First Hour, Step by Step
- Stop all contact. Do not send more money, do not argue, and do not click anything else the scammer sends.
- Call your bank. Say clearly: “I have been scammed and I want my accounts frozen.” Give the amount, date and recipient of each transfer. Write down the reference number.
- Use the Kill Switch if you can. It is a self-service feature in your banking app, or available through the hotline. It freezes all current and savings accounts, including joint accounts. It blocks digital, ATM and branch transactions, and stops GIRO, PayNow, FAST, recurring transfers and card purchases.
- Call every other bank or wallet involved. Cards, e-wallets and second accounts each need their own call.
- Make a police report. Online, or at Punggol NPC at any hour. Put in as much detail as you can (see the next section).
- Lock down your accounts. Change passwords from a safe device. If you think your Singpass was exposed, see our guide to suspending your Singpass account. If you installed an app the scammer asked for, follow ScamShield’s malicious app steps.
- Warn people. Tell your family and contacts, in case the scammer uses your name. Report the seller or account to the platform where you met them.
Restoring frozen accounts is a separate process for each bank, and ScamShield does not publish the steps. Ask your bank when you call.
What to Put in Your Police Report
ScamShield lists what the police find most useful. Gather what you can, but do not let a missing screenshot delay the report.
- The date and time of each contact and each payment.
- How the scammer reached you: call, SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, a website or a marketplace.
- Their phone numbers written in full with no spaces, noting any “+” at the front and the app used.
- Email addresses and full website addresses, not just the site’s name.
- Screenshots of chats, profiles and adverts, plus any receipts or invoices.
- Bank transaction records showing the amount lost.
- Any call recordings.
- Reference numbers from your bank and from 1799, and the steps you have already taken, such as freezing your accounts.
After you report, you can follow up with the police through their scam enquiry form.
Can You Get the Money Back?
Sometimes, and the faster you act, the better your chances. In 2025, the police Anti-Scam Command recovered about $140.5 million and froze more than 15,000 bank accounts. That same year, 37,308 scam cases were reported, with about $913.1 million lost.
ScamShield is honest about the limits. Once money has moved overseas, recovery is very difficult: Singapore police cannot freeze foreign accounts or compel foreign banks to act. Money that is seized is returned only after investigations finish.
The Shared Responsibility Framework
Since 16 December 2024, banks and telcos have had set anti-phishing duties under MAS and IMDA’s Shared Responsibility Framework. If a bank or telco breached those duties in a phishing scam, a payout is expected. It covers 17 banks and 31 major payment institutions, including e-wallets such as GrabPay, ShopeePay, Wise and PayPal’s wallet. To claim, contact your bank or wallet immediately, report to the police, and give a valid email with your supporting evidence. The institution investigates and tells you the outcome.
It applies to phishing scams, not every kind of scam. Banks also run their own goodwill schemes for scam victims, separate from the framework, so it is always worth asking.
Support After a Scam
- A Victim Care Officer: ask your Investigation Officer to arrange one.
- Someone to talk to, any hour: National Mindline 1771, or Samaritans of Singapore 1767. Both are 24 hours.
- Counselling lines on ScamShield’s list: SAMH 1800 283 7019, TOUCHline 1800 377 2252, and Care Corner’s Mandarin hotline 1800 3535 800.
- The Anti-Scam Resource Guide: it explains the investigation process, in English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil.
Feeling shaken, ashamed or unable to sleep after a scam is common. Our mental health help page lists more places to turn.
Neighbour’s Tips After a Scam
- Save your bank’s fraud line today. Find it on the bank’s own website or the ScamShield list, and save it under an obvious name. In a panic, nobody wants to search.
- Screenshot before you block. Capture the chat, the profile and the number first. Then block and report.
- Distrust the “recovery” call. Anyone who contacts you offering to recover your money, especially for a fee, may well be running the next scam.
- Help older parents set up the Kill Switch. Show them where it is in their banking app before they ever need it.
- Know about Restriction Orders. Since 1 July 2025, under the Protection from Scams Act, the police can direct banks to limit the banking of someone who keeps believing a scammer. Worth knowing if you are worried about a loved one who keeps sending money.
- Cut the scammers’ routes in. Our guides show how to block incoming international SMS and check SIM cards registered in your name.
If It Is Urgent or Out of Hours
- You are being threatened, or the scammer is at your door: call 999, or SMS 70999 if you cannot talk.
- Middle of the night: the DBS/POSB fraud line is 24 hours, ScamShield 1799 is 24/7, and Punggol NPC is open around the clock.
- Sunday or public holiday: the One Punggol kiosk is closed, but the online police report and Punggol NPC are not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I call the bank or the police first?
The bank. ScamShield’s order is: contact your bank, freeze your accounts, then file a police report. Your bank can act quickly to prevent further loss, so every minute counts.
What is the Kill Switch?
A feature in your banking app, or via your bank’s hotline, that immediately freezes all your current and savings accounts, including joint accounts. Card purchases, ATM withdrawals, PayNow, GIRO and scheduled transfers stop too.
Will I get my money back?
It depends on how fast the money is frozen and where it went. Money that has gone overseas is very hard to recover. For phishing scams, the Shared Responsibility Framework may lead to a payout if your bank or telco breached its duties.
Where can I report a scam in person in Punggol?
At Punggol Neighbourhood Police Centre, 151 Punggol Central, at any hour, or at the self-help kiosk in the ServiceSG Centre at One Punggol, Monday to Saturday, 9am–6pm.
Someone called saying they are from the police and can recover my money. Is it real?
Be very careful. ScamShield warns that scammers pose as authorities to target victims again. Hang up, and call the official police numbers yourself.
Is ScamShield 1799 a police report?
No. 1799 is an advice helpline. You still need to make a police report, and you should note the 1799 reference number in it.
More Help on eduKate Punggol
- ScamShield 1799 for Punggol residents: checking suspicious calls and messages.
- Report a scam message in ScamShield: screenshots and submission.
- Set up ScamShield call and SMS filtering on iPhone and Android.
- Emergency numbers, fire, floods, haze, dengue and scam protection
- Make a non-emergency police report from Punggol
- Official: ScamShield: I’ve been scammed · What to include in a police report · Kill Switch
After the First Hour
Bank, freeze, report, keep the evidence. Once those are done, you have done what can be done tonight. Then be kind to yourself, tell someone you trust, and let the bank and the police do their part. Being scammed says nothing about how clever you are; it says the scammers are very good at their jobs.
And if your family is also looking for calm, small-group English, Mathematics or Science, eduKate Punggol teaches classes of three in Punggol. Come find out more: Book a consultation · Chat on WhatsApp
eduKate Punggol
Small-group English, Mathematics and Science
Primary and Secondary
By appointment · +65 8823 1234
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Checked October 2026. Addresses, opening hours, fees and rules change, so please confirm with the official source before you go.
