ALL of the roughly 470 OCBC O39 : O39 0% customers who lost their savings in last month's eye-popping phishing scam will receive "full goodwill payouts", the mainboard-listed lender said on Wednesday (Jan 19), days after initially announcing that it was making payments on a goodwill basis.

The payouts have gone to more than 100 victims so far - up from some 30-odd on Monday - said OCBC group chief executive Helen Wong in an update. She added that arrangements with all affected customers will be made by next week.

Hundreds of OCBC customers lost a combined S$8.5 million over the year-end festive period, when scammers took advantage of old short message service (SMS) technology to impersonate the bank and dupe victims into handing over their online banking log-in details.

OCBC began releasing payouts to affected customers on Jan 8, though it said in an earlier statement that those were "made on goodwill basis after thorough verification, taking into account the circumstances of each case".

The Straits Times reported this week that some victims who had already received goodwill payouts cited non-disclosure agreements; they declined to share details.

"We seek the understanding and patience of our customers, as thorough validation of each case requires time to ensure accuracy. This process is necessary so that every case is fairly and properly treated," Wong has now said.

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"We apologise for taking more time than expected to resolve the issues with our customers during this time of distress and anxiety."

Wong added that OCBC has also prevented more than 200 other patrons from falling for the scam, by contacting patrons who might not have known that they were vulnerable. She did not give details on the types of customers or how they were susceptible.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS),  the Republic's financial services regulator, has said that it expects all affected customers to be treated fairly and "will consider appropriate supervisory actions".

The MAS also noted that OCBC will be carrying out “a thorough probe to identify the deficiencies in their processes and implement the necessary remedial measures”.

The bank had initially drawn criticism over claims that it took too long to step in once accounts were compromised and suspicious transactions had been made.

OCBC has since acknowledged that its customer service and response “fell short of our customers’ expectations, especially at a time of stress and anxiety”.

READ MORE:

• BT Explains: What you need to know about SMS phishing

• When scammers can empty your bank accounts of S$8.5m in minutes, where is the sense of security?

• OCBC to continue with physical tokens as it weighs fraud risks to customers