A woman in her 30s lost S$330,000 to an online scam after repeatedly ignoring warnings from her bank and the police.
According to a report by Shin Min Daily, the victim met the scammer on a dating app and trusted him despite clear signs of fraudulent activity.
The case began on 16 April 2024, when OCBC Bank’s anti-fraud team noticed the woman attempting to transfer S$20,000 to an international bank account with no prior transaction history.
Fraud analyst Bai Junhua recounted that the bank contacted the woman to confirm the transfer. Although she insisted it was a legitimate loan to a friend, her tense tone and inability to explain the transaction’s purpose raised red flags.
Further investigation revealed that she had attempted five transactions to two different accounts, all marked with an email address instead of a name or description.
These anomalies prompted the bank to involve the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC), which flagged the recipient’s account as suspicious.
Despite immediate intervention to block the transfer and warn the woman, she remained adamant that the transactions were legitimate.
Continued defiance despite police involvement
Senior Assistant Superintendent Huang Zhiquan, a team leader at the ASC, confirmed that even after police involvement, the woman refused to accept that she was being scammed.
She continued to pressure the bank to allow the transactions. Days later, she transferred approximately S$30,000 from another account into her international account, prompting the bank to suspend her account to prevent further losses.
Despite face-to-face meetings and extensive counselling from bank staff and police, the woman remained resolute. She signed a disclaimer stating she was not being defrauded and insisted on proceeding with the transactions. At the time, her combined account balances stood at S$130,000.
A devastating loss
The woman’s persistence ultimately resulted in severe financial consequences. By June 2024, she filed a police report claiming she had been scammed. Her accounts were nearly depleted, with less than S$600 remaining across both accounts. One account had only S$17.
She admitted to transferring funds 27 times to the scammer, who promised high returns on investment opportunities. Her losses, amounting to S$330,000, included personal savings and loans from multiple banks.
Rising scam cases
Bai expressed deep disappointment over the case, noting that the bank and authorities had exhausted all efforts to protect the victim. “Despite our best efforts, she trusted the scammer over the warnings,” he said.
The incident underscores a growing problem in Singapore.
Scam-related cases rose by 16.3 per cent in the first half of 2024, with total losses exceeding S$385.6 million. If the trend continues, losses could surpass S$770 million by year-end.
Authorities continue to urge the public to remain vigilant and seek verification before making financial transactions.
