S’pore woman, 60, falls victim to love scam, loses S$5,000

A 60-year-old woman in Singapore apparently fell victim to a romance scam and lost S$5,000 in the process.

She only realised she was scammed when she could not get her "investment" money back, Shin Min Daily News reported.

"Jack"

The woman, who chose to remain anonymous, told Shin Min that she was contacted by a man identified as Jack through a messaging app in the middle of 2025.

Jack claimed to be an Australian resident, and that his aunt knew the victim.

The woman said he had asked her if she could provide information for his daughter on studying in Singapore.

They later switched communications to WhatsApp.

During their conversations, he frequently checked on her well-being and apparently showered her with attention.

The woman claimed that they mainly exchanged text messages and spoke on the phone.

They never had a video call.

The woman, who got divorced 13 years ago, said he appeared caring and would ask if she had consumed her meals.

Jack also apparently reminded her to soak her feet, and she would even send him photos.

According to chat logs, he would call her “wife” even after she replied that she was no longer young and attractive, but he would reassure her.

The woman also claimed that Jack would show concern for her daily life.

She thought she had finally met a man she could get along with and fell for him.

The woman and her ex-husband have two daughters, both of whom are married.

She spends her time caring for her grandchildren.

Investments

In September 2025, Jack purportedly taught her how to invest online.

As the woman trusted him, she followed his instructions to download an app and provided her email address.

Jack then said she needed to hand over the money to a stranger.

Following his instructions, she withdrew S$5,000 in cash.

Meet

At around noon on Sep. 23, 2025, the woman met the stranger.

The woman claimed that the stranger apparently sent her a WhatsApp message that Jack instructed him to collect the money for investment purposes.

The stranger also informed her that he had arrived at the designated meeting place.

She then handed him S$5,000 in cash near a toilet at Jurong Point when they met.

The woman took a photograph of him.

Realisation

About two weeks later, Jack asked her to increase her investments.

She declined as she did not have enough money.

This reportedly angered Jack.

She later tried to withdraw her funds, but was told that she had not met the minimum withdrawal requirement.

That was when she realised she had been scammed and subsequently lodged a police report.

The woman said she does not dare to inform her family that she had fallen for a love scam.