SINGAPORE: A 59-year-old Singaporean man has lost his life savings and home after falling victim to an elaborate online romance scam spanning two years.
The man, who wished to be identified only as Tan, revealed he had sold his Ang Mo Kio HDB flat and transferred over S$120,000 to a woman claiming to be from Hangzhou, China.
According to a report by Shin Min Daily News, Tan first connected with the woman in mid-2023 through Facebook.
She introduced herself as Huang Ping, a divorcee in her 30s with a daughter, and claimed to be living in Hangzhou.
Tan said they began communicating daily via text and phone calls. “She was very caring and always made time for me. I had no doubt she was sincere,” he recalled.
Transfers began after emotional persuasion
Several months into their relationship, Huang began asking Tan for financial help, claiming she was facing financial hardship.
“At first it was just a few thousand dollars. I thought it was normal to support each other as a couple,” Tan said.
Moved by her emotional pleas, including calls in which she cried about her struggles, Tan soon depleted his savings of around S$30,000 to S$40,000.
Scammer persuaded him to sell HDB flat
Huang later proposed that Tan sell his flat and move to China to begin a new life together.
Tempted by the idea of settling down, Tan agreed.
He surrendered his three-room HDB flat, which was slated for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme, and received a compensation sum of approximately S$123,000.
Over the following year, he transferred the entire amount to bank accounts specified by Huang—some transactions reaching up to S$40,000 at a time.
Victim left homeless and broke
After exhausting his funds, Tan became homeless and turned to a friend for shelter.
Upon learning of the full situation, the friend suspected a scam and urged him to make a police report.
Tan admitted he initially refused to believe he had been deceived.
“It wasn’t until my friend showed me similar scam stories and pointed out the red flags—like frequent changes in bank account numbers—that I woke up,” he said.
He eventually lodged a report with the Singapore Police Force on 21 July 2025. Police confirmed they are investigating.
Warning signs ignored despite bank alerts
Tan also revealed that bank staff had flagged suspicious transfers more than a year ago and advised him to stop sending money.
“I told them confidently that it wasn’t a scam,” he said.
“When they asked too many questions, I lied and said the money was for a friend.”
As a precaution, the bank eventually capped his transfer limit to S$200 per transaction.
Undeterred, Tan continued to withdraw cash and deposit it at ATMs to send the funds.
Scammer cut off contact after funds dried up
Tan shared that Huang stopped communicating about two months ago, claiming her grandmother had passed away and that she was observing a six-month mourning period.
“We haven’t spoken since. She even deleted parts of our chat history, which made me realise she was never real. I now believe even the photos she used were stolen,” he said.
Currently living with his friend, Tan said he is seeking employment to regain financial independence and hopes to rent a place of his own.
“I’m grateful for the support from my friend. I even survived a car accident in March, and that made me see things differently,” he shared.
“The money is gone and I can’t change what happened. I was blinded by love, but now I just want to move on and rebuild.”
Scam and cybercrime cases in Singapore surge, with victims losing S$1.1 billion in 2024
In 2024, scam and cybercrime cases in Singapore rose by 10.8%, with victims losing S$1.1 billion, a 70% increase from 2023.
The SPF reported record-high scam cases, with e-commerce scams being the most prevalent, , with 11,665 cases reported.
A small number of high-loss cases, including cryptocurrency-related scams, contributed significantly to the total losses.
Cryptocurrency-related scams made up 24.3% of the total scam losses in 2024, a significant increase from 6.8% in 2023.
The police noted that just four cases accounted for S$237.9 million in losses, significantly influencing the total amount lost in 2024.
Additionally, there were 852 reported cases of internet love scams in 2024, with victims losing a combined total of S$27.6 million.
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