PUBLISHED ONAugust 30, 2025 7:00 AMBYKoh Xing YingWhat began as an overseas call which she would normally ignore turned into a elaborate and manipulative scam — one that cost her $250,000, nearly wiping out her life savings.
Speaking to the media at Police Cantonment Complex on Aug 18, the woman, who wished to be known only as Tan, recounted how a scammer impersonating an Air China officer first reached out to her in April this year.
"I am usually cautious about calls from China. Most of the scam calls come from there," said the mother of one, who is in her 40s.
"But this one didn't ask for money upfront. They were just verifying my identity at first."
Tan, a Singaporean, shared that the caller claimed there were irregularities involving flight cancellations and insurance claims under her name.
When she denied any involvement, the caller suggested that her identity might have been stolen and advised her to file a report with the Chinese police.
As she was in Singapore at the time, Tan explained that it would be difficult for her to do so, and asked the caller for assistance — to which they eventually agreed, claiming they would make an exception in her case.
Shortly after, a person claiming to be a Chinese police officer contacted her before moving their conversation to Telegram, where he sent a supposed police ID to "verify" his identity.
According to Tan, the scammer — posing as a Chinese police officer named "Lei Jun" — presented her with what appeared to be an official police report after she had "filed" her case.
A few days later, "Lei Jun" contacted Tan again, this time claiming that her identity may have been stolen and linked to a large-scale international money laundering case allegedly involving more than 400 suspects.
To maintain the illusion, the scammers played realistic background noises, including walkie-talkie chatter to mimic a tense atmosphere, which Tan likened to a "typical Hong Kong police drama".
She was also instructed to report her location with a photo of herself every two hours, maintain daily communication with the scammers, and not reveal the case to anyone —under the guise that it could "jeopardise the investigation."
Eventually, when Tan was connected to another individual posing as a "Chinese police superintendent," she was told to hand over her money as "proof of innocence."
Despite initial suspicions, she failed to seek a second opinion, believing that compliance was the only way to clear her name.
In an effort to comply with the scammers, she began withdrawing money from her bank accounts, despite receiving warnings from the banks about potential scams.
"After a few failed attempts, I managed to withdraw everything. I lied that I [was] settling my debt (because) I wanted to protect my family," said Tan.
The money — all $250,000 packed in a parcel — was subsequently handed over to a money mule during a brief, in-person meeting at a public park.
Despite handing the money over, Tan said that she continued to remain in contact with the scammers for two more weeks — until the Singapore Police Force (SPF) contacted her.
Initially doubtful of the officers from the SPF who contacted her about being scammed, Tan was later convinced that she had indeed fallen victim to a scam.
Fortunately for her, the police managed to recover the full amount, a month after the transfer was made.
At the helm of the scam investigation was Senior Investigation Officer Steven Lee at SPF's Anti-Scam Command.
Speaking to the media on Aug 18, Lee said that he was first alerted to a case involving a China-based impersonation scam in May 2025.
"I was alerted by a young money mule who reported that he had received $362,000 from three victims," said Lee, who has been in the police force for over 36 years.
Lee said that the money mule realised he had been scammed after doing his own research online before approaching a neighbouring police station to seek advice.
Following that, Lee and his team began a thorough investigation.
"Besides conducting the initial investigation, we carried out ground resource investigation to identify the victims," said Lee, adding that the entire process took about a week.
Out of the monies scammed from three victims, only Tan's funds were successfully recovered.
"Unfortunately, once the money leaves Singapore, the chances of recovery is very slim," Lee added.
He reminded the public to remain vigilant of anyone claiming to be from government agencies.
"Government officials will never ask for your bank account details, or request that you download any screen-sharing applications. So, never fall into the trap," said Lee.
From January to June 2025, the number of scam and cybercrime cases decreased by 21.5 per cent to 22,476 cases, compared to 28,625 cases in the same period in 2024.
In a statement released on Aug 27, the police noted that despite the decrease, the scam situation still remains of concern, with scam cases accounting for 87.5 per cent of the 22,476 cases.
Investment scams, government officials impersonation scams, job scams, phishing scams, and insurance services scams were the top five scam types in the first half of 2025.
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