Heavily Pregnant DBS Staffer Saves Elderly Woman from Losing S$200K to Scammers

SINGAPORE: A 38-week pregnant DBS employee, Fionice Teoh, became an unlikely hero when she prevented a 70-year-old woman from losing over S$200,000 to scammers at the Century Square branch last December.

The customer arrived on Christmas Eve demanding S$190,000 in cash while constantly on the phone, giving conflicting reasons — first festive shopping, then “investment.” Teoh spotted the red flags, stalled the transaction, and alerted the bank’s anti-scam team.

DBS Staffer

Despite the woman shouting threats to close all accounts, Teoh stayed calm and persuaded her to return the next day. That night, police visited the victim’s home and uncovered she had already withdrawn S$12,000 earlier and was reporting her movements to fake “officers” probing a fictitious money-laundering case.

The woman later returned with chocolates to thank the staff. Singapore recorded S$151.3 million lost to government-official impersonation scams in 2024 alone.

Business News