S'porean actor Laurence Pang, 78, lost S$36,000 to woman he met on dating website

Editor's note: This article’s image credits have been amended to include the detail that screenshots were derived from the "Raffy Tulfo in Action" podcast’s TikTok. Images of the woman "Mika", provided by the male victim, were doctored and used by the scammer.

After the publication of this article, we were alerted by online commenters that the images of "Mika" are actually derivatives of photos of a Singaporean woman, Vanessa Ho.

This was after Ho posted an Instagram post on the matter, claiming that Mothership had edited or doctored her photos.

Mothership did not edit any of the images, contrary to what Ho initially claimed.

We were not aware that the photos used by the scammer were derived from photos of Ho, and there was no reasonable way we could have known this.

We note that Ho has subsequently issued a clarification on her Instagram and also an apology on her IGS.

However, she then went on to suggest that it was Mothership's unclear reporting that led to this situation in the first place.

We categorically reject this claim.

Singaporean actor Laurence Pang, 78, revealed that he had lost almost 1.5 million pesos (S$36,000) after meeting a woman on the dating site, Pinalove, branded as a site for men to find Filipino girlfriends.

Pang spoke about his experience about being scammed when he was in Manila and he appeared on the Jan. 17 episode of the show, "Raffy Tulfo in Action".

@raffytulfoinaction

Tinatayang nasa ₱1.5 milyon ang natangay mula sa Singaporean actor na si Laurence Pang Kum Tong nang siya’y mabiktima sa inalok na “cryptocurrency investment scam” ni alyas “Mika” na nakilala raw ng aktor sa isang online dating app. Kaya naman noong Jan. 16 ay humingi na ng saklolo ang foreign celebrity sa Raffy Tulfo in Action (RTIA) para mapanagot si “Mika” at hindi na makapambiktima pa. Alamin ang buong detalye ng kwento at mga tulong na ibinigay ni Sen. Tulfo! s #Tulfo #RaffyTulfo #RaffyTulfoInAction #IdolMoSaSenado #KakampiMoSaSenado #NakikinigLumalabanUmaaksyon

♬ original sound - Raffy Tulfo

He said he was scammed by a lady known as "Mika" some time in late 2024.

He has never met her in person, but had communicated with her over video call.

The scam

Pang described how he was misled by Mika:

“This lady I met online introduced me to this shopping mall and she helped me to register and do everything.”

“There is a actually a real company called Rakuten Global, which is located in Japan. But the URL that she gave me is to a fake one [website]. I joined as a reseller.”

He explained that the company would have both an online shop and products for him.

As a reseller, he had to fund the products himself first and try to sell them.

She then set up the cryptocurrency and e-commerce platform accounts for him.

Pang was told that he would earn 10 per cent for every commission he made along with a refund of the capital he invested.

But the actor found out that he was unable to withdraw the money until he completed all outstanding orders.

But orders kept coming in rapidly, which prevented him from withdrawing any money.

He began to grow suspicious.

He suspected that these orders were fake, which caused him to be unable to get hold of his money.

Around the second or third day, he removed his products from the store, so that no new orders could be made.

However, he realised that new orders continued as the website administrators had likely added the products back onto the shop.

As a result, Pang could not get back the money he had put in into his online shop.

The amount he invested was more than US$27,000 (S$36,000) in cryptocurrency.

Why he was fooled

Pang justified why he fell for the scam.

He said:

“Being an old man you know, when a young lady says “I like you”, I blah blah blah, stupid [redacted], you know.”

Mika had also sent him fake photos of herself to which he admitted he was charmed by.

When Pang realised he was being duped, he got the woman on a video call and recorded the interaction without her knowledge.

Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group's commentary

A spokeswoman from the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, Wallen Mae Arancillo, explained how people like Pang fall for such scams:

“We are very sorry for the victim. And we call that romance or love scam.

These suspects or cybercriminals are scammers. They are getting the sympathy of their victims and later on they are encouraging these people to invest in cryptocurrency.”

Watch the full episode here.

Who is Laurence Pang

Pang is a Singaporean actor who's known for acting in local English dramas, such as "Tanglin" and "Sunny Side Up".

This is not the first time he has voiced his grievances over matters in his life to the public.

In 2019, Pang had wrote that he was "very disappointed" with Changi General Hospital (CGH).

This was because the hospital was unable, according to him, to immediately diagnose his blocked arteries.

Top image from Laurence Pang's official Instagram @laur3ncepang