'I lost money I saved for university': Man loses over $45k to love scam

A young man thought he had fallen in love, but soon realised he'd fallen for a scam instead. 

The 27-year-old man, surnamed Lin, told Shin Min Daily News he met a woman named Anna on Instagram on Oct 14. 

"She followed me first. When we started talking, she told me she was a Malaysian fashion designer working in Singapore. We continued chatting casually, and everything seemed normal. 

"Three days later, she said she felt we had a lot in common and suggested that we start dating, so I agreed," said the university student. 

Once Lin began 'dating' Anna, the pair would text each other frequently and talk on the phone for one to two hours every day. 

Anna then asked Lin to help her complete some sales transactions. She told him that he would receive a commission after helping to write product reviews and transferring some money to an account.

She also promised that he would get his money back. 

"From Oct 18 to 19, I made 14 fund transfers, which came up to $45,590. For the first two transactions, I received $116 and $735 respectively. 

"But I didn't get a cent back for the other 12 transactions." 

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During the last few transactions, Lin said that Anna urged him to transfer more money before he could receive his commission. 

Realising something was amiss, the man stopped wiring money to Anna and called the police. 

To confirm his suspicions, Lin also called the boutique Anna had claimed to work for, and was told that they had no such employee. 

"Two of the transactions were actually made from my mother's bank account," he told Shin Min. 

When he made the police report, the man was told that the chances of getting his money back were slim. 

"After the incident, I was depressed for two weeks. I lost money I saved for university, and now I'm left with nothing." 

To fund his school fees next semester, Lin said he's going to apply for financial assistance from his school. 

"I hope that everyone will be more vigilant after reading my story and not get tricked," he said. 

In response to Shin Min's queries, the police confirmed they received a report and are currently investigating the incident. 

READ ALSO: Singaporean woman tries to meet Tinder date in Taiwan, gets warned by police about love scam

claudiatan@asiaone.com