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SINGAPORE, Dec 27 \u2014 A Singaporean man transferred S$3,999 \u00a0(RM12,558.57) to a woman he met on TikTok after she claimed she was being held hostage and on the brink of being sold into prostitution.<\/p>\n
The 49-year-old air conditioning technician, identified only by his surname Lin, only realised later that it was all a scam, Singapore news outlet Shin Min Daily News<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n Lin told Shin Min<\/em> that the woman messaged him on December 16, claiming she had lost S$20,000 (RM62,820.30) in an investment scam three months after arriving in Singapore.<\/p>\n She claimed to have been held hostage as she could not repay the money.<\/p>\n Lin admitted he was suspicious at first but was convinced when the woman called him and cried, saying she would be forced into prostitution if she failed to pay.<\/p>\n He repeatedly asked for a video call, but the woman said her captor would not allow it, Lin told Shin Min<\/em>.<\/p>\n Lin switched to WhatsApp and discovered the woman was using a Hong Kong number.<\/p>\n When he confronted her, she claimed to be from Guangdong and came to Singapore via Hong Kong.<\/p>\n The woman refused to send photos and only agreed to a masked video call on December 19, which lasted less than a minute before she hung up, Lin said.<\/p>\n Lin said the woman called him \u201cdear\u201d and promised to be his girlfriend if he paid her debt.<\/p>\n On December 20, her \u201cboss\u201d gave Lin an Amoy Street address to pick her up after paying her debt, according to Lin.<\/p>\n Lin transferred S$1,000 (RM3,138.23) but was told it was too late to release her.<\/p>\n On December 22, he sent another S$2,999 (RM9,417.44) after she asked for help again, Lin said.<\/p>\n The woman\u2019s \u201cboss\u201d then demanded S$3,000 (RM9,420.59) for rent, and Lin realised he had been scammed.<\/p>\n He lodged a police report, which authorities confirmed to the outlet.<\/p>\n Shin Min <\/em>reported that the Amoy Street address turned out to be a restaurant, whose staff said they were unaware of the scam.<\/p>\n Lin told Shin Min <\/em>he had been scammed before on Facebook seven years ago over a donation for Thai deities.<\/p>\n \u201cI only watch television or YouTube and only downloaded TikTok after a friend said everyone was using it,\u201d he was quoted as saying, and\u00a0has since deleted all his social media accounts and reduced online usage to avoid further scams.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n