'My daughter would never cheat me': UOB staff save elderly woman from being duped of more than $30k
The daughter had threatened suicide if she did not get the money.
When the elderly woman arrived at UOB's Jurong Point branch earlier this year to prematurely withdraw a fixed deposit worth more than $30,000, deputy branch manager Sebastian Loh, 36, sensed something was amiss.
When he probed further, the woman, in her 80s, admitted that her daughter had threatened to take her own life if she did not hand over the money. She also suspected that her child had been caught up in a scam, given the urgency of the request.
Mr Loh urged the woman not to proceed with the withdrawal and to return to the bank with her daughter for a meeting with police officers. The following day, the daughter gave vague answers when asked what she intended to do with the money, and dismissed it as a private family matter.
This led Mr Loh to alert the authorities while putting the transaction on hold.
Ultimately, thanks to an intervention by other family members, it was discovered that the daughter had fallen prey to investment scams herself. This eventually led to a police report being filed.
'Familial love can cloud our judgment': UOB
It was the latest case of familial and financial abuse (FFA) at UOB, which highlighted Mr Loh's work in a recent Facebook post. FFA cases typically involve a family member exploiting the customer's trust to withdraw or divert money without their knowledge or against their wishes.
UOB spokesman Benny Chan told The New Paper that the number of FFA cases that UOB dealt with doubled in the first half of this year compared to last year. Mr Chan, who is managing director of the bank's group channels and digitalisation, did not give specific figures.
"This is particularly worrying for us, as victims of familial financial abuse are predominantly the elderly," he added.
Mr Loh told TNP that he has undergone specialised training to spot signs of FFA. He recalled that the elderly woman's daughter often spoke on behalf of her parents, which raised concerns that the older woman "may not know what [she is] actually here for".
He acknowledged that it is natural for family members to step in to help, but advised that customers should still make their own financial decisions without any form of emotional pressure.
"If they face any difficulties, they should give us some signs," he said, adding that such cues would alert staff to step in and protect customers from potential family financial abuse.
Scam-Driven Familial Abuse
According to the Singapore Police Force's (SPF) mid-year scam and cybercrime brief released on Aug 30, scams accounted for 87.5 per cent of the 22,476 scam and cybercrime cases.
With more than $456 million lost in the first half of 2025, investment scams appear to be the costliest with about $145 million lost, making up around 32 per cent of total scam losses.
On Sept 19, a man was jailed for offering an "AI-powered investment scheme" that cheated victims of more than $4.6 million.
Other recent case include a government official impersonation scam where a woman handed over $250k.