Singapore chat-group investment scam cost victims S$3.6 million
What's new: Police linked the losses to 48 cases since May, with some victims handing over cash or gold to impostors.
Singapore police warned that victims have lost at least S$3.6 million since May in an investment scam that used WhatsApp chat groups posing as free investing classes. At least 48 cases were reported. The scheme started with fake social media ads offering investment lessons, then moved targets into chat groups where scammers posed as mentors and other members shared supposed trading gains. Victims were told to open accounts on bogus websites or apps and send money to designated bank accounts. In some cases, they also handed cash or gold to people pretending to be company staff and received invoices. Many discovered the fraud only after they could not withdraw profits or the scammers disappeared.