Woman thought she could outwit scammers but lost $78k

06-Apr 2025 Sunday 1:45 AM (191 days ago)

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06-Apr 2025 Sunday 1:46 AM (191 days ago)

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‘I thought I could outwit scammers’: Woman who lost over $78,000 to job scam in four days
ST20250320_202536000588 chscam22 Azmi Athni//

Scam victim Ms Lee, 48, working in sales, lost $78,000 of her savings to scam.

ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
Scam victim Ms Lee, who works in sales, was devastated after she lost over $78,000 of her life savings to a job scam.ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
SINGAPORE - She was confident that even if she talked to a scammer, she would not fall for their tricks.

Yet, a woman who wanted to be known only as Ms Lee, 48, lost over $78,000 to a job scam in four days.

Her ordeal in February caused her to lose almost 90 per cent of her life savings.

Job scams were among the top scams of concern in 2024, with victims reporting more than 9,000 cases and losing $156.2 million, according to annual police statistics.

Scammers typically contact the victim on messaging apps, lure the victim into depositing money for a job offering attractive commission rates, then steal the funds.

Ms Lee, who works in sales, said someone using a foreign number contacted her on WhatsApp in late 2024 offering her an online part-time job.

She agreed, as she felt her work was mundane.

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06-Apr 2025 Sunday 1:47 AM (191 days ago)

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Soon, she was contacted by another man named “Charles Khoo” who claimed to be a Malaysian in Singapore, who was married, with a newborn.

Though she suspected it was a scam, Ms Lee decided to play along as she said her life lacked excitement.

The married woman, who has an 18-year-old daughter, said: “I just wanted to disturb the scammers. I thought I could outwit them.”

Ms Lee had contacted The Straits Times after reading in March about how the Government was considering caning as punishment for scam-related offences.

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06-Apr 2025 Sunday 1:47 AM (191 days ago)

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Ms Lee was contacted by a man named "Charles Khoo", who claimed to be a Malaysian working in Singapore.ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
Charm offensive

Every day over several months, “Charles” sent her encouraging and cheery messages.

Slowly, she thought he was a genuine friend, even when he promoted a job to her.

She said: “Every day he would ask, ‘How are you Jie (Mandarin for sister). Why don’t you give this online job a try?’ Over time, I thought this must be just a part-time job to earn some side income.”

The purported job required her to place a deposit in cryptocurrency and complete surveys related to about 30 brands, before receiving her deposit back with commission.

On Feb 15, Ms Lee put in about $600 and got back about $700.

Excited by the quick gains, she invested larger amounts over the next few days.

When she was asked to put in more than $11,000 on Feb 18, the cryptocurrency platform paused the transfer and emailed her that she may have been scammed.

But she still trusted “Charles”, who convinced her to transfer the sum to his boss via PayNow.

She came to her senses when the job required her to invest $120,000, which she did not have.

She had already transferred $78,000, but was told she could not withdraw the sum until the job was completed.

Ms Lee said: “I was devastated and pleaded with them to return my money, my hard-earned savings.”

The scammers refused and suggested she borrow money from the bank or licensed moneylenders.

Eventually, Ms Lee told her family about her predicament.

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06-Apr 2025 Sunday 1:49 AM (191 days ago)

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Over several months, the scammer “Charles Khoo” would send encouraging messages to Ms Lee daily.PHOTO: COURTESY OF MS LEE
Mind games

Dr John Shepherd Lim, chief well-being officer of the Singapore Counselling Centre, said some people may feel they can outwit scammers as they are tech-savvy and digitally literate.

But he cautioned against engaging them.

He said: “These scammers are usually not lone rangers. They are backed by syndicates. They understand psychological vulnerabilities and how people think.”

In Ms Lee’s case, Dr Lim said the scammer preyed on her emotional vulnerability by showering her with attention.

Dr Geraldine Tan, principal registered psychologist at The Therapy Room, called scammers “the best psychologists” as they use psychological techniques to their benefit.

Noting that scammers prey on basic human needs such as love and belonging, Dr Tan said nobody is immune to their tactics.

Their methods include using “mirror neurons”, where they do or say something that shows they are similar to the victim, so the latter feels emotionally safe with them.

Like how “Charles” told Ms Lee he was also married with a child, said Dr Tan.

She added: “The more the victim interacts with the perpetrator, the more vulnerable they will be. Anything the victim says can be weaponised.”

The incident has gripped Ms Lee with guilt and shame.

Her husband was shocked, but did not blame her and accompanied her to the police station to file a report.

The funds she lost was meant to pay part of their housing loan, which her husband now has to bear alone.

Ms Lee decided to share her story to warn Singaporeans against being complacent.

She said: “Even though you could be a very alert person, you could also fall prey to online scams. This made me learn a very painful lesson that we can never outwit scammers.”

Christine Tan is a journalist at The Straits Times reporting on crime, justice and social issues in Singapore.

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07-Apr 2025 Monday 1:31 PM (190 days ago)

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07-Apr 2025 Monday 1:32 PM (190 days ago)

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