She was in her late thirties and looking for a romantic partner. Like most people today, Pauline (not her real name) turned to dating apps to find a suitable match. She was even open to dating outside her home country, Singapore, if it meant a wider pool of eligible bachelors.
With that, she took to Litmatch, a dating app popular in wider Asia, in hopes of finding some companionship. Without giving it much thought to whether a long-lasting relationship would flourish from this venture, she browsed matches with an innocent desire for genuine connection and conversation.
Once, he asked her: “Do you have any goals in life?”, to which she earnestly responded, “Yes. I want to open my own cafe.”
Seemingly enthused by her passion, he sprang into action immediately, detailing plans to help her achieve her lifelong aspiration.
What she thought was the start of a combined pursuit for a beautiful future together would soon end up putting her in financial peril, and even her family in harm’s way.
Pauline is a victim of a variant of investment scams, which involves scammers befriending and gaining the trust of victims before introducing fake investment opportunities to them. This variant is also known as the “pig butchering” scam in popular media. While most would envision investment scams to occur by falling for get-rich-quick schemes, scammers are constantly refining their methods to gain the trust of victims, enhance their chances of success and avoid detection.
Scammers like Yunzhi use the befriending approach to lure victims in, exploiting the trust and rapport built from their relationships to introduce and guide them to “investment opportunities”.
The 'investment opportunity'
Having gained Pauline’s trust and goodwill as a romantic partner, Yunzhi advised Pauline that her salary as a retail operations employee was insufficient to even set aside money for savings every month, much less to realise her dreams of opening a cafe.
He propositioned that the investment opportunities would build a better future not just for herself, but for them as a couple, and that he had many friends in the finance industry who taught him ways to grow his wealth. One of which, was through gold investments.
Pauline had her reservations. She knew nothing about investments.
But he assured her that the site she was investing in was a well-renowned capital market company, and that he would guide her through every step of the process.
Sure enough, a simple Google search revealed to Pauline that the mentioned company was a leading service provider for investments globally.
But it was all a ruse. In retrospect, Pauline realised that the website that Yunzhi had sent her was a fake website that was vastly different from the legitimate company’s - scammers were just misusing the company’s name and reputation.
The scam website had a feature for victims to enter the value of their investment.
After which, they had to chat with a customer service agent via the Line instant messaging app to transfer monies via PayNow, which will then place money into their ‘investment’ accounts.
Pauline began her ‘investment’ journey cautiously - just $1,000 to start.
Yunzhi then cajoled her saying it was “too little” to amount to any significant gains. So, she put another $1,000. And then another.
Tax payment required
Soon, seeing that her investment made some profits, she thought it was time to withdraw everything from her account. That was when customer service had informed her that an upfront payment of 10 per cent tax from ‘IRAS’ (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore) was required to process her earnings, which did not make financial sense as she had not even earned past 10 per cent of her initial capital.
Yunzhi assured her that this process was completely above-board. In fact, he too had to pay a 10 per cent tax just to take out his earnings.
He then offered her a better deal. Now, he was asking for her support of the 10 per cent tax to reap his investment earnings. And unlike Pauline’s token amount of a couple thousand, Yunzhi’s account was supposedly worth $450,000.
“I just need $45,000 to withdraw it,” he said, appealing to Pauline for her help with funding the tax. He promised that the earnings from his investments would go to building their future together, and a step closer to her dream of opening a cafe.
Pauline didn’t have the money. But she was on the verge of having everything she dreamt of. Just $45,000 away from owning a little pot of gold with her perfect man, and a little cafe to call her own.
She decided she couldn’t put a price on happiness, not when it was close enough to taste. Yunzhi advised that she took a loan, and she obliged.
However, her credit score and salary had her maxing out a loan of $1,500 from licensed moneylenders. He advised her to find other sources.
Now, Yunzhi really needed her to buy his plan. He put on a sob story. “I think I might sell my house to get the money,” he told her, suggesting his commitment to this action plan.
Pauline was determined to help. She sought loans from some online moneylenders (which are illegal in Singapore) for a sum of $40,000.
Dreams dashed
Long story short, she didn’t get it. The moneylenders deposited a ‘trial’ $400 into her bank account and demanded that she send back $2,000 days after - even going so far as to show up at her doorstep and hounding her family members for payment. This caused her family much distress.
Yunzhi continued with his dramatic ploy – suggesting that he had embezzled company funds for the tax payment and needed her help, pleading to her with the urgency of the situation.
Alas, he sensed that Pauline had nothing left to give and promptly disappeared from her life. He told her he was being ‘caught’ by policemen in Hong Kong for his white-collar crimes.
It took her a while after Yunzhi disappeared for Pauline to come to the realisation that she had been lied to all along about the gold investment, the businessman, the tax payment, everything.
“I was more upset than angry,” she said. “I never met him before, but I really liked him. I trusted everything he told me.”
Why do people fall for scams?
“For scams that require a lot of grooming, [the victim] is in the flow. And it is very hard to break out of it,” said Carolyn Misir, Principal Psychologist, Police Psychological Services Department, Singapore Police Force.
“Unless somebody else knows, and they say, ‘Look at all the red flags’,” she adds. This is why it is advisable for victims to consult a trusted loved one when they are caught in a highly emotional situation.
In Pauline’s case, scammers used the befriending approach to gain her trust, making it easier to get her buy-in when investment opportunities were presented to her.
Other investment scam variants to be wary of
Investments scams may also take other forms online.
When on the lookout for genuine investment opportunities, victims had come across investment advertisements on social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook. After clicking into links, they may be redirected to messaging applications, or to an ‘investment’ website where they may be asked to provide personal particulars and deposit monies. Scammers then make away with these funds.
Another type of scam could start off as being added into chat groups that perpetuate investment scams, even when unsolicited. These operate on the psychological tactic of social proof, where testimonials are left by peers who have successfully achieved gains. Everyone involved is usually orchestrating a scam.
Here is how you can take measures to transact safely online:
After being burnt multiple times, Pauline decided she needed the support of a trusted family member to intervene.
She and her mom went to the bank to close old bank accounts, and started a new joint account, for which only Pauline’s mom had access to ATM cards.
They were also advised to activate the “money lock” feature to secure a portion of their savings.
Here are some ways for members of the public to bank safely and securely:
Having encountered multiple scams, Pauline knows better now.
“I will not trust anyone online so easily again. And I will check with a friend or family member next time.”
If you are unsure whether a situation you are faced with is a scam, call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.
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