30-year-old man arrested after duping woman into transferring him more than $97k in love scam

A 30-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in an internet love scam in which a 34-year-old woman was cheated of more than $97,000.

The police said in a statement that they received a report of the scam in May.

Officers from the Commercial Affairs Department established the identity of the man and arrested him on Nov 8.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man used a fictitious online persona and befriended the woman who was deceived into transferring more than $97,000 to him between August 2022 and February 2023.

He was believed to have used the money to repay his loans and daily expenses.

He will be charged in court on Nov 10 with cheating which carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.

The police advise members of the public to adopt the following measures to avoid falling victim to internet love scams:

Do not receive/send money from/to people you do not know well, especially if you have not met in person

Contact the police immediately if you receive any message or call from someone claiming to be in trouble overseas and urgently needs you to send money; and

Inform the police if anyone tries to extort money from you.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.