TikTok scammer: Man, 76, loses S$55,500 to ‘good-looking’ woman who reached out to him

SINGAPORE: An uncle victimised by a woman, who contacted him over TikTok a few months ago, ended up losing around S$55,500 of his savings.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the 76-year-old man, who did not provide his full name, stated that the woman was attractive and “looked Chinese”.

This “Ms Li” reached out to him on April 21 with a proposition for a “business.” After the uncle responded to her on TikTok, they moved their conversation to WhatsApp.

The report in the Chinese daily stated that the uncle was not unaware of scams and that, prior to being contacted by the woman, he had been vigilant against falling into their traps.

It is not uncommon for scammers to target elderly men and women, as they are often less tech-savvy and less up-to-date with scammers’ strategies than younger people.

However, when “Ms Li” told him about an investment opportunity and promised that he would receive high profits, he was hooked.

Around a week after she first made contact, “Ms Li” sent the man a link and had him download a “commercial” TikTok app, which the man might have believed to be the TikTok Shop app.

On it, he opened an account and put in his own money so that the “shop” could sell items.

The woman then asked the uncle to download the virtual currency wallet app on May 1. Afterwards, she asked for photos of both sides of his credit card, and then helped him pay with the card on the wallet app.

“Ms Li” told him that it could be used to withdraw cash for the “business,” and so he transferred money to the wallet app. After he tested it and found that he could initially withdraw the money that he had transferred, he ended up putting in a total of S$55,500.

After that, however, he found he could no longer get his money from the wallet app. It then dawned on him that he had been scammed.

The shock of losing such a large amount of money caused him sleepless nights and a loss of appetite.

He told Shin Min Daily News that he lost the bulk of his retirement savings and that it took him some time before he could be brave enough to tell his three children about having been scammed.

He has also had to borrow S$10,000 from a friend.

After he told his children, he went on to file a police report on June 6.

However, he has yet to tell his wife about the scam, especially because he does not want to cause her any worries. Their three children have also agreed that it would be best not to tell their mother about the incident and are giving their father S$1,000 a month for their parents’ living expenses without their mother’s knowledge.

Interestingly, the report in the Chinese daily noted that in spite of having been scammed, the uncle still communicates with “Ms Li” from time to time. He still thinks she is a real person, although others have told him that the photo that was sent to him is a fake. He believes, however, that she is now based in Hong Kong, as she has already changed her number.  /TISG

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