He gave his parents’ life savings to scammers, thinking they were Chinese police officers

Conmen sent the victim, Albert, documents and even conducted video calls to convince him to transfer S$70,000 to them. They later asked for another S$130,000. — CHONG JUN LIANG/The Straits Times/ANN

SINGAPORE: Only 48 hours after he arrived in Singapore to begin his first year for a master’s degree in chemistry at a local university, Albert (not his real name) received a phone call from officers claiming to be from the Ministry of Health, that sent him into a panic.

The 24-year-old Chinese national was told he was involved in money laundering activities and the call was subsequently transferred to scammers claiming to be police officers in China.