‘Stupid, you know’: Singapore actor falls prey to Philippines love scam, losing S$35,000
SINGAPORE, Jan 22 — Veteran Singapore actor Laurence Pang, 78, lost S$35,000 after falling victim to a love scam in the Philippines.
Pang shared his experience during an episode of the YouTube public service programme by Filipino journalist “Raffy Tulfo In Action” on January 17, Singapore-based news agency Channel News Asia reported.
“Being an old man, when a young lady says ‘I like you...’. Stupid, you know,” Pang was quoted as saying, reflecting on how he was deceived.
He met Mika, a woman he encountered on the dating app Pinalove, who later convinced him to invest in a fake online business.
Pang, known for roles in Singapore TV shows Tanglin and Sunny Side Up, said Mika charmed him into investing in a business reselling products on an online platform.
He later realised that the products were being sold on a fake version of Rakuten, the Japanese online marketplace.
Pang claimed he had never met Mika in person and only communicated through WhatsApp and video chats.
Mika showed Pang a report of her profits and claimed she was making money from processing her own orders.
She instructed Pang to transfer money to her account to set up his e-commerce and cryptocurrency business.
He was told he would earn a 10 per cent commission and get his capital refunded once customers bought products from his online store.
However, Pang quickly became suspicious when he couldn’t withdraw his money due to fake orders piling up on the site.
“I believe that these customers that were coming in were all fake, generated by this company to prevent me from withdrawing my money,” he said.
