I Fell For A Love Scam: How They Made It Seem So Real

‘Samantha’, a divorcee in her 50s from Malaysia, fell for a pig butchering scam - a mash-up of romance and investment schemes run by Asia-based online scam syndicates. (Are you the victim of a scam or know someone who is? Email us with your story: [email protected])

Among all the messages in her Instagram chat, this one caught her attention: “You remind me of one of my teachers. I miss her very much.” The scammers - posing as an attractive young man from China - proceeded to continue chatting with her for several weeks.

They cooked up details of everyday life to make her believe she was falling in love with a real person. They then tricked Samantha into investing in a fake cryptocurrency platform in order to ‘build a future together’ - while asking her to keep their relationship a secret, promising to get together once the pandemic was over.

Within months, Samantha lost about US$20,000. Looking back, Samantha said there were red flags that she should not have ignored.

0:00 How the scammers gained my trust
3:18 How the scammers got me to invest
6:15 What I’ve learnt

For help wherever you are, contact:
Global Anti-Scam Organization https://www.globalantiscam.org/contact
Global Anti-Scam Alliance https://www.gasa.org/contact-4

If you're in Singapore:
For scam-related advice, call the anti-scam hotline 1800 722 6688 or go to www.scamalert.sg.
To provide information on scams, call the police hotline 1800 255 0000, or submit online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.

Also watch:
Asia's Tinder Swindlers: Exposing Love Scam Rings In Cambodia:    • Asia's Tinder Swindlers: Exposing Lov...  
How To Tell if You're Being Scammed: Love Scammers' Tactics Exposed:    • How To Tell if You're Being Scammed: ...  
Inside Taiwan’s Phone Scam Rings:    • Inside Taiwan’s Phone Scam Rings | CN...  

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