SINGAPORE: A 34-year-old woman recently lost around $97,000 to a 30-year-old man she had met on a dating app in 2022. The Police arrested the man on Wednesday (Nov 8) after establishing his identity.
The woman had filed a report of an Internet Love Scam (ILS) case last May, where the woman reported she had lost over S$97,000 in the scam. Officers from the SPF’s Commercial Affairs Department then carried out an investigation, which eventually led to the man’s arrest earlier this week.
“The man used a fictitious online persona and befriended the victim, who was deceived into transferring more than $97,000 to him between August 2022 and February 2023. The man was believed to have used the money to repay his loans and daily expenses,” the Police said in a media release.
The man is scheduled to be charged in court on Nov 10 with cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871. For this offence, he could be subject to an imprisonment term of up to 10 years and made to pay a fine.
The police have released this advisory to prevent people from being victimized by persons who carry out love scams:
- Do not receive/send money from/to people you do not know well, especially if you have not met in person
- Contact the Police immediately if you receive any message or call from someone claiming to be in trouble overseas and urgently needs you to send money and
- Inform the Police if anyone tries to extort money from you.
Members of the public may obtain more information regarding scams by visiting scamalert.sg or they call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-722-6688. Individuals with information regarding these scams can call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
Unfortunately, love scams are not uncommon in Singapore. Last month, DBS Bank officers prevented an elderly man from losing thousands in a love scam. In a post shared by the bank on its Facebook account, DBS wrote that the man, who was described to be in his 70s, repeatedly yelled in frustration the following question: “It’s my money, why can’t I make the transfer?!”
The incident occurred at the POSB branch in CompassOne mall in Sengkang around lunchtime, causing the usual noise to subside as other customers were surprised by the man’s outbursts. (DBS is POSB’s parent company.)
Bank officer Ms Rohani Hassan and Deputy Service Manager (DSM) Siew Lay correctly determined that the man could have lost considerable money if the scam had been pushed through.
DBS noted in its post that the two women received letters of appreciation from the Singapore Police Force in September 2023 for their involvement in preventing this scam, they received letters of appreciation from SPF in September 2023. /TISG
Read related: Bank officers prevent elderly man from losing thousands in love scam