A woman says she was left with $60 in her bank account after attempting to sell her washing machine on online marketplace Carousell – only to have her account drained after responding to a fake email.
TikTok user @zannaboo posted a video on her account on Oct 23, giving an account of how she was scammed.
Fake setup drained her bank account
In response to The New Paper, she explained that when she first listed the washing machine, she received a message from a potential buyer who said he was overseas and gave her his wife’s contact number, asking her to continue the conversation on WhatsApp.
She said it took place on Oct 20, and the conversations lasted around 30 minutes.
“Their tone was friendly and trusting,” she told .
The supposed wife then sent a fake confirmation email, directing her to a website that appeared official. The site asked for her bank details to set up a so-called CarouPay account – a payment system she was unfamiliar with.
“I truly wasn’t aware, as it was my first time attempting to accept payment through that source,” she said.
After entering her details, she was guided by a chatbot named “Sophie,” who instructed her to click on her digital token and approve the transaction. That was when the first deduction occurred.
The chatbot then demanded she top up her account with at least $1,500 to recover the lost money.
When she refused, “Sophie” suggested borrowing from friends or family. She realised she was being scammed only after the transaction was irreversible.
“I was pretty foolish to trust blindly. It was my own fault for not being vigilant. It’s a very expensive lesson for me indeed,” she said.
