SINGAPORE: When Mary (not her real name) received a Facebook friend request last November from a businessman who appeared to have some acquaintances in common, she thought nothing of accepting the invitation.

That marked the start of a dizzying web of deceit which ultimately saw her lose at least S$200,000 within two months.





Claiming to be a businessman based in the Middle East, Mary’s new “friend” would send her WhatsApp messages embellished with details of his family and photographs of him with associates.

“He seemed very pleasant-looking and well-dressed,” Mary told Channel NewsAsia in a phone interview. “I thought that he was too high-profile for me.”

But within a month of them getting to know each other, the man was asking for a loan to cover “customs taxes”, as the machinery parts for his oil business was stuck at customs in Dubai. As proof of his identity, he sent Mary a photograph of his passport details.



“It sounded credible, that’s why I gave him that first loan,” she added. But things escalated days later when the man sent a photo of himself on a stretcher, with an oxygen mask attached to his face.





Claiming that he had blacked out and woken up in hospital, the man said he needed medical treatment and could not foot the bill as his assets were frozen by the bank.

While her instincts told her that this could be a scam, Mary was convinced by fake doctors’ reports and photographs of the man, who looked gaunt and sickly. “My heart really sank (when I saw the photographs), what if it was real?” she said.

But Mary ponying up the cash wasn’t enough, as the man claimed doctors still needed to perform an emergency procedure to save his life. With her savings running low, Mary approached well-meaning friends to raise funds, one of whom contacted the hospital and found out there was no such patient.



(File Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)

“At the start, he was very nice,” said Mary. “But the tone in his messages changed. He asked me why I had got my friend involved and that I should be listening to him instead.”



With time running out on the scam, the man tried to turn Mary into a money mule, fishing for her bank account and passport details so that he could transfer cash from “clients” to his boss in Dubai through her, in order to pay for the operation.

Mary said: “When he asked for passport details, it was like a flashing red light.” She stopped responding to the man’s messages before making a police report.

“The police officer told me there was nothing much they could do about it,” added Mary. “Sometimes I ask God why me? I never hurt anybody. All I wanted to do was help save a life and it turned out to be a painful and costly experience.”



PREYING ON PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS

Mary is not alone. According to the Singapore Police Force, at least S$99 million was lost to scammers last year.



Internet love scams, in particular, hit a new high of 825 in 2017, with cases increasing by 30 per cent. To combat this, the police last October formed the Transnational Commercial Crime Task Force (TCTF) to investigate these particular scams. The police also work closely with foreign law enforcement counterparts to crack down on overseas syndicates targeting Singaporeans.

Despite the number of cases decreasing by 8.5 per cent from January to March 2018 as compared to the same period in 2017, the SPF said such scams "remain a concern".



This year, apart from love scams, some of the most common scams include e-commerce and investment ruses, with the police seeing the number of cases increase by 46 per cent and 43.3 per cent respectively.



According to Dr Lim Boon Leng, a psychiatrist at Gleneagles Medical Centre, scammers have identified certain “gaps” in the thinking processes of victims and exploit these opportunities.



“We rely very much on what we believe in, our preconceived notions and what we see and hear. Sometimes, that in itself may not be entirely accurate and it can be exploited, ” said Dr Lim.

“(In the case of love scams), scammers try to understand you and your needs, they then play to your needs … There’s a deception that is ongoing and then the individual believes this deception, assumes it to be true and complies ultimately with the act of giving up his or her money because of the emotional aspects of it – they feel very bonded to the person online and don’t want to lose them,” he elaborated.



(File Photo: Reuters/Dado Ruvic)

“It’s worth noting that there have been cheats and grifters for as long as people have had possessions,” added associate professor Benjamin Detenber from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University.



“What networked computers have done is simply extend the reach of cheats and grifters. That is, they have the capability of reaching more ‘marks’ at little or no cost. In the past, con artists had to work the ground, and now they can simply ride a keyboard,” added Prof Detenber, who has research interests in computer-mediated communications.



Having received a Facebook friend request from a scammer using the duplicate account of a church mate, John (not his real name) accepted the invitation without much thought. His “friend” claimed to be at an exhibition, and requested for John’s phone number and resultant OTP in order to “claim a prize".

“I totally bought the whole thing. I didn’t really suspect (it was a scam) also because I was studying at the same time,” said John. While the transactions made by the scammer ultimately fell through, several others from John’s church also fell prey to the scam and ended up being charged small amounts through their phone bill.

“It is taking advantage of the friendships and the goodwill of people,” added John. “I was quite disgusted that they would make use of the trust that you have for close friends.”

STEERING CLEAR OF THE LAW

But it is not merely about being trusting. Singaporeans are also less likely to question authority, making them more susceptible to scams, added Dr Lim.

“I do think that Singaporeans are more likely to be scammed than (those who come from) other countries," noted Dr Lim. “We are less likely to question authority - we are a more trusting society and less questioning especially when it comes to authority … In Singapore, we are so averse to having some sort of criminal record, some sort of brushes with the law or a black mark on our life, we are very likely to then fall victim and then pay up.”



A victim of an impersonation scam, Andrea was coerced into divulging credit card information. She was contacted by a caller purporting to be from a service center who informed her that she had a package due for collection. But because the package contained an illegal substance, she had to transfer her to a "police" hotline.

“When you look back on it, it seems ridiculous. You’re simply too involved in the conversation to think clearly,” said Andrea. “I thought that being scammed was something that would never happen to me.”



(File Photo: AFP/Damien Meyer)

Flustered and worried after being transferred from caller to caller for more than an hour, Andrea was informed that she was also wanted in a corruption case, and told to provide her bank and credit card details. While she provided the latter, she could not get her banking information online and headed to her bank to get the information in person.



“It was while walking there that I came to my senses,” she said. “I thought of what they were telling me, checked the internet and realised it was a scam.” Andrea reported the case to the police straight after, and immediately cancelled all her credit cards to ensure that no money was withdrawn.

“We don’t concentrate very well and we don’t make good judgments when we are under time pressure, or stress,” said Dr Lim. “During those times, the anxiety is very high. The brain is trying to find a way to let go of the anxiety so people would rather give up on rationalising the situation."

"The police strongly urge the public to be cautious when making any form of online transactions and to exercise due vigilance when making friends over the Internet," SPF said in a statement.

"Do not give out personal information and bank details, ATM cards, PIN codes, Internet banking tokens to strangers. No government agency will ask for payment or seek banking information over the telephone. Victims should remember: Don’t panic, don’t believe, don’t give."



“Before I received that call, I never really thought twice about scams,” said Andrea. “I was so frightened and scared. You think that Singapore is so secure and safe but it is not always the case. Some people are just good at manipulating others.”

