SINGAPORE – A lady misplaced about $400,000 after she was satisfied to put money into shares by way of a fraudulent funding platform.
She had been added right into a WhatsApp group chat whose members – a few of whom have been scammers – would ship messages about “revenue”’ they earned through the funding app.
They would additionally share funding suggestions every day, main her to imagine that it was real.
Over the course of two months, Ms Lim (not her actual title), who’s in her 50s, made greater than 60 transfers to the “platform”, and even handed money to the scammers on two events.
She realised she was duped when the scammers requested her to pay a tax on the cash she needed to withdraw, and made a police report.
After she went silent within the group chat, one of many scammers pretended to be a sufferer and requested her if she needed to make a police report along with him.
Lots of the members additionally left the group chat after she made the police report.
Ms Lim fell sufferer to a rip-off variant involving funding apps promoting fraudulent funding merchandise.
Since October 2025, there have been
at the least 20 reported instances of funding scams
involving these functions, with complete losses amounting to at the least $1.7 million, mentioned the police on Dec 9, 2025.
Talking to the media throughout an interview facilitated by the police on Jan 29, Ms Lim mentioned that was added into the group chat named “Lion Capital Circle” in August 2025.
She didn’t suppose something was amiss as she had contacted the customer support of a legit funding platform across the identical time.
The opposite members of the group had native cell phone numbers, which made the group seem legit.
“I used to be very energetic on the (different platform), so I assumed it was only a coincidence,” she mentioned, including that she had been investing in shares and bonds since she was in her 20s.
The scammers instructed her to obtain the appliance from the Apple Retailer, which she described as “legit and professional-looking”. Additionally they claimed that they have been linked to a legit funding firm primarily based in Hong Kong.
After making a profile, she deposited $3,000 into the platform by scanning a QR code generated by a YouTrip account.
YouTrip is a cell platform which gives a multi-currency cell pockets that enables customers to make funds in varied currencies.
As soon as she despatched the cash, the transaction on her banking utility would present that she transferred cash to YouTrip’s firm UEN.
Nevertheless, she didn’t know who she transferred the cash to.
For each transaction she made, she would obtain a receipt, which bore the title of a Singapore-registered firm.
“I believed I transferred cash to a neighborhood firm, and since Singapore has the Financial Authority of Singapore, and anti-money laundering legal guidelines, I didn’t suppose it was a rip-off,” she mentioned.
To confirm the corporate’s legitimacy, Ms Lim mentioned she searched their title on-line and even requested different group members, who persuaded her that she was not being scammed.
These group members would additionally message her ceaselessly and deal with her like a buddy, which brought about her to let her guard down.
When she needed to take a position a bigger sum of cash, the scammers instructed her that she needed to give them money in order that her transaction might be processed shortly.
The scammers instructed her to inform the financial institution workers that she wanted to withdraw money for household bills, in order to not increase any suspicions.
She withdrew a complete of $110,000 in money on two events and handed it to 2 totally different males who met her close to her residence.
When she met the primary man, she requested him, “Is it authorized to simply accept money?”
“He instructed me: Who would dare to interrupt the regulation in Singapore?”
In early November 2025, Ms Lim needed to withdraw the cash she invested from the app, however was instructed she needed to pay $150,000 in tax for the transaction.
“I used to be helpless, as a result of I had no cash to provide them, so I went to the police.”
Within the first half of 2025, some
$456.4 million was misplaced to scams
in Singapore, with virtually 20,000 instances reported.
rip-off victims in Singapore misplaced $1.1 billion
, marking a file excessive in losses suffered in a single 12 months.
“The police want to remind the general public to watch out when making investments, particularly when being instructed to obtain apps to create buying and selling accounts.
“Even when an funding app is out there on the official Apple Retailer, it might not be secure or legit, as scammers may use such apps to advertise fraudulent funding merchandise,” mentioned Inspector Norashikin Hussein from the police’s Anti-Rip-off Command.
Regardless of her monetary loss, Ms Lim mentioned she nonetheless has the help of her household.
“I really feel that life has to go on, I can not let this smash my life although it’s a really painful expertise.
“I can share my expertise as a result of I don’t need others to undergo what I did,” mentioned Ms Lim, who added she will likely be extra cautious any longer.
