'Send police report to us': Scammers taunt man after he lost over $150k of life savings to them

He was hoping to earn a quick buck with some simple tasks, but instead found himself penniless.

A security officer named Mohan lost over $150,000 after he fell for a job scam that he received through Telegram, Shin Min Daily News reported yesterday (Aug 6).

On June 19, the 44-year-old man was offered a job via Telegram. After he expressed interest, he was later contacted by a woman named Yu Thing.

She told Mohan to register for an account on a website where he would be able to earn a commission by completing tasks online.

However, he needed to send in money before he was allowed to receive tasks.

"She told me that after completing 35 tasks, I could take back my money together with the commission I earned — but I must transfer my money before the task can be completed," Mohan shared with Shin Min.

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Unsuspecting at first, he dutifully made transfers to different accounts until July 28, even transferring $59,335 in a single day. He sent a total of $155,081 over the course of 39 days.

But when he tried to withdraw his money, he was told to send over another $120,000, leading Mohan to grow suspicious of his 'employer'.

He recalled: "After I finished [my tasks], I was told that I did it too slowly and had to pay another $120,000 to progress further.

"It was only then that I realised that I might have been scammed."

He told the scammers that he would call the police but was brushed off.

"They actually told me, 'You can send the police report to us and we'll follow up on it' — but then they became uncontactable," Mohan said.

The police confirmed that Mohan lodged a report and that investigation is underway, the Chinese daily reported.

'I don't think I can get my money back'

Mohan also shared that the money scammed off him was his savings from 12 years of work.

After falling victim to this scam, he now no longer has any money left.

"I don't think I can get my money back," Mohan admitted. "So I hope people can learn from this and not become their next victim."

As of December 2021, over 4,500 people have fallen prey to job scams, losing a total of $91 million, states the Scam Alert website, run by the National Crime Prevention Council.

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Job scams sit in second place among the top five scams that occurred in Singapore between July 22 and 28.

Scam Alert also warns the public against falling for job scams, detailing signs that a job offer may not be as innocuous as it appears.

The offer is likely to be a scam if a person is asked to make payment before starting work — no legitimate entity will ask staff for money.

Such scams would also claim to be able to provide high pay despite the low investment costs, and victims may even receive commission on the first few occasions.

There may even be 'success stories' or 'testimonials' sent to the victim to further gain the victim's trust.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com