S'pore woman loses over S$1 million to scammer who used MP's photo as profile pic

A woman in her 60s lost more than S$1 million of her life savings in two weeks to a scammer who used a Member of Parliament's (MP) photo as their WhatsApp display picture.

She only found out the truth after she went to a Meet-the-People session and appealed for her bank account to be unfrozen.

The case came to light after Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Cai Yinzhou shared it on Facebook on Jul. 23, and later spoke to Shin Min Daily News about how it unfolded in a report on Jul. 24.

Told not to tell anyone

The ordeal began in March when the scammer, posing as a police officer, told the woman she had an outstanding arrest warrant against her and warned her not to tell anyone.

From then on, she sent the scammer a daily selfie at home to "prove" that she was cooperating with investigations.

Over two weeks in April, she made 32 separate transactions, and even personally delivered her jewellery and other valuables to locations specified by the scammer.

In total, she lost over $1 million of her life savings.

Wanted help unfreezing her bank account

The truth only came out when the woman turned up at Cai's Meet-the-People Session (MPS) on Jul. 21.

She wanted him to appeal to the bank on her behalf to unfreeze her bank account.

It was only as she kept talking that the fuller picture emerged. She mentioned that a police officer had contacted her, and that there was supposedly an arrest warrant linked to a money laundering case.

Cai asked to see her chat history, and found that the person she had been having exchanges with was using a WhatsApp profile picture of an MP.

The scammer had also used a Ministry of Law photo as their WhatsApp banner, likely to seem more official and trustworthy.

There, she learnt that there was no arrest warrant, and no genuine police officer had ever contacted her.

Cai said he had asked her if she had any friends or family she could have turned to.

She said she did, but hadn't told them, possibly out of reluctance or a lack of trust that they would understand.

Urged people to look out for one another, especially seniors

In his Facebook post, Cai urged the community to look out for one another and to verify anything that feels off before acting on it.

He also stressed that no one should let themselves be isolated from the people they trust, which is a tactic scammers frequently use to stop victims from seeking help.

"Scams can happen to anyone. Please look out for one another, especially our seniors. If something feels off, verify before you act. And never let anyone isolate you from the people you trust," said Cai.