Singaporean couple lose over $500,000 in alleged stock investment scam

The couple were led into pumping $650,000 into buying stocks of a Hong Kong-listed company whose value then nosedived.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Published Sep 05, 2026, 09:30 AM

Updated Sep 05, 2026, 09:30 AM

SINGAPORE – A Singaporean couple are holding on to over $500,000 in losses on paper after they said they were led into pumping $650,000 into buying stocks of a Hong Kong-listed company whose value then nosedived.

They believe they are victims of a so-called “pump and dump” scam, and made a report to Singapore police in early August. The police told The Straits Times they are looking into the matter.

The company – CMBC Capital Holdings – had, in a statement posted on its and the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited website on Aug 25, said that its name might have been misused in relation to “suspected investment scams”, and it had reported the matter to the Hong Kong police and “relevant regulators”. It added: “The company wishes to clarify that none of the suspected activities are in any way associated with the group… Likewise, the group has not granted any authorisation to any third party to use the company’s name… or solicit any investment arrangement regarding the shares on behalf of the company.

“The company wishes to emphasise that it has no involvement whatsoever in any suspected activities. Shareholders and potential investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the company.”

International news agency Reuters had reported on this statement.

The Singaporean couple, a homemaker and a sports coach who are both in their 40s, had invested around $100,000 in life savings and $550,000 in mainly bank loans, in documents seen by The Straits Times . They declined to be named for this article.

In May, they had decided to try to grow their finances via retail investing, with the wife then registering her interest after seeing a Facebook post offering a free five-month trial to learn and practise trading.

She soon received a WhatsApp message asking to add her to a group called V73 Learning To Shape The Future, and accepted the request.

There, a purported professor by the name of “Chan Kah Ming”, who claimed to have previously worked at institutional investor firms, would share his knowledge in almost daily lessons and offer stock tips.

He had an assistant named “Ella”, who would interact with the chatroom’s members, give daily updates on the stock picks, and tell them when and how much to invest. Both “Chan” and “Ella” were using Singapore mobile numbers, according to the police report seen by ST.

“Ella” would interact with the chatroom’s members, give daily updates on the stock picks, and tell them when and how much to invest. ST PHOTO: DILENJIT SINGH

“Ella” would interact with the chatroom’s members, give daily updates on the stock picks, and tell them when and how much to invest.

ST PHOTO: DILENJIT SINGH

The wife – who had previously dabbled in retail investing with much smaller sums and little success – was initially cautious, sitting in for the “lessons” without buying in.

“The previous stocks that they shared, it really moved according to how they predicted it,” she said, adding that she also verified what was taught in the lessons.

Believing she had done her due diligence, the couple invested $40,000 on the next stock tip – CMBC Capital, an investment holding company – and made around 20 per cent in profit after she sold the stock as instructed.

She felt confident in her observations and experience when Chan pitched the same company again, saying that it would reach HK$50 (S$8.10) a share from its then valuation of around HK$5, in a “once in a lifetime” opportunity.

A purported professor by the name of “Chan Kah Ming” pitching the merits of buying CMBC Capital Holdings stocks. ST PHOTO: DILENJIT SINGH

A purported professor by the name of “Chan Kah Ming” pitching the merits of buying CMBC Capital Holdings stocks.

The couple then took about $100,000 in savings and around $500,000 in bank loans, and bought in at just under $HK5 a share over several days in July.

Said the wife: “After the first week, the stock price really did increase, it went up to over HK$5... We were elated because we were pretty confident with them at that time, so confident to the point that we went and borrowed some money from the banks because of whatever that we were promised in return.”

When the stock began to tank drastically, “Chan” and “Ella” continued to urge the couple and others in the chatroom to hold on to their shares, saying the price was volatile due to short sellers.

“Chan” even blamed the investors. In the message log seen by ST, he said: “Friends, I’ve been in a terrible mood these past couple of days. I’ve been racking my brain for ways to launch a counter-attack and defeat the short sellers, but since many of you are unwilling to cooperate, my strategy hasn’t been implemented as smoothly as it could have been.”

The couple were worried but did as they were told, until they were kicked out of the chatroom without warning on Aug 2, with both “Chan” and “Ella” no longer contactable.

“Professor Chan” and “Ella” urging people in the chatroom to hold their positions, despite the stock price plummeting. ST PHOTOS: DILENJIT SINGH

“Professor Chan” and “Ella” urging people in the chatroom to hold their positions, despite the stock price plummeting.

ST PHOTOS: DILENJIT SINGH

By then, the paper value of their investment had gone down by about 85 per cent, with the wife describing it as “the worst feeling I had ever felt in my whole entire life”. The stock is trading at HK$0.68, as of Sept 2.

The couple then made a police report on Aug 2. The husband also e-mailed CMBC Capital on Aug 7, requesting the matter be escalated to the company’s legal and compliance department and senior management, but he has not received a reply as of Sept 1.

ST has contacted CMBC Capital and the Hong Kong Police Force for comment .

In response to queries from ST, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing said it does not “comment on individual cases”.

The couple believed they had fallen for a pump-and-dump scam, where fraudsters hype up the price of a company’s shares by spreading false positive news about it and encourage investors to buy in, resulting in the stock price going up. These conmen then sell their holdings quickly for a profit, causing the price to plunge.

Scammers would typically request screenshots of stock transactions from victims, the Singapore police said in a 2021 advisory, and it was believed that these conmen are paid based on the number of victims who bought the “recommended” stocks. This was also requested of the Singaporean couple.

Fraud prevention expert Simon Liu assessed documents provided by the couple and other available information and told ST that “on the evidence, a scheme to defraud these investors is not in serious doubt”.

While the chief data and AI officer at TrustDecision and adjunct associate professor at Nanyang Technological University said it was not possible to definitively say they had fallen victim to a pump-and-dump scam, or a ramp-and-dump scheme as it is termed by the Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, “the circumstances show the characteristics associated with a ramp-and-dump scheme”.

He explained: “What the documents establish, in my view conclusively, is a coordinated scheme to induce a group of retail investors to buy a single security, to stop them selling it while the price fell, and then to collect their personal financial information as their losses mounted.”

‘Pump and dump’ scams deserve attention: Expert

On Sept 5, the Singapore police issued an alert, warning the public of a resurgence in “pump and dump” scams involving overseas-listed companies, saying that at least 21 cases have been reported since July 1.

In June 2026, they had also warned the public against scams where victims were invited to join chatrooms claiming to offer opportunities to learn investing for free, with at least 48 cases reported and no less than $3.6 million lost since May. In December 2021, authorities here and in Hong Kong worked together to investigate a syndicate suspected of operating pump-and-dump scams on stocks listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Before the company issued its Aug 25 statement flagging suspected investment scams, CMBC Capital had, in an earlier statement on July 24, pointed out “recent unusual movement in the trading price of the shares”, but added that it was “not aware of any reasons for such movement in trading price”.

ST found a message thread on an online brokerage firm here, where several users shared their experiences with “Chan” and “Ella” in relation to CMBC Capital, warning others of the alleged scam.

The accounts and screenshots shared by these users are similar to those provided by the Singaporean couple to ST.

ST has not been able to contact other investors in the WhatsApp chatroom, or the brokerage firm’s message thread.

Tearing up, the wife said they are looking to sell their family car to service the bank loans, as it was “not sustainable”, given their projections of personal and business expenses.

The husband added: “The impact of the scam is far more than just numbers, I’ve got three young boys to feed and I’ve got my workers as well to feed. Basically, the whole ecosystem is affected just because of one scam.”

Liu said pump-and-dump scams deserve attention as especially on the surface, victims can appear to do little wrong.

He said: “Nothing this couple did looks reckless… They used a licensed broker. They bought a real, listed company on a real exchange. They paid market prices, and their money went into the market rather than to an offshore account. There was no fake platform and no fake app.

“Every check that public education has trained people to run, they would have passed.”

Internet crimes and scams

这对夫妇被诱导投入 65 万美元购买一家香港上市公司的股票，而该公司的市值随后暴跌。

图片说明：联合早报

发布于 2026 年 9 月 5 日上午 9:30

更新于2026年9月5日上午9:30

新加坡——一对新加坡夫妇表示，他们被诱导投入 65 万美元购买一家香港上市公司的股票，结果该公司股价暴跌，导致他们账面上损失超过 50 万美元。

他们认为自己是所谓“拉高出货”骗局的受害者，并于8月初向新加坡警方报案。警方告诉《海峡时报》，他们正在调查此事。

该公司——中国工商银行资本控股有限公司——于8月25日在其公司网站及香港交易所网站发布声明称，其名称可能被滥用于“涉嫌投资诈骗”活动，并已就此事向香港警方及“相关监管机构”报案。声明补充道：“本公司特此澄清，所有涉嫌活动均与本集团无任何关联……同样，本集团也未授权任何第三方使用本公司名称……或代表本公司招揽任何有关股份的投资安排。”

“本公司特此强调，本公司与任何涉嫌活动均无任何关联。股东及潜在投资者在交易本公司证券时务必谨慎。”

国际新闻机构路透社曾报道过这一声明。

据《海峡时报》看到的资料显示，这对新加坡夫妇，妻子是家庭主妇，丈夫是体育教练，两人都年过四十。他们投资了约10万美元的毕生积蓄，以及主要来自银行贷款的55万美元。他们拒绝就本文透露姓名。

五月份，他们决定尝试通过零售投资来增加收入。当时，妻子在 Facebook 上看到一个帖子，提供五个月的免费试用期，可以学习和练习交易，于是她就注册了。

她很快收到一条 WhatsApp 消息，请求将她添加到一个名为 V73 Learning To Shape The Future 的群组中，她接受了请求。

在那里，一位自称“陈嘉明”的教授，声称自己曾在机构投资者公司工作过，几乎每天都会授课分享知识并提供股票建议。

他有一位名叫“Ella”的助理，负责与聊天室成员互动，每日更新股票推荐信息，并告知他们何时以及投资多少。据《海峡时报》看到的警方报告显示，“Chan”和“Ella”都使用新加坡手机号码。

“艾拉”会与聊天室成员互动，每日更新股票推荐信息，并告知他们何时以及投资多少。ST PHOTO：DILENJIT SINGH

“Ella”会与聊天室成员互动，每日更新股票选择信息，并告诉他们何时以及投资多少。

圣地照片：迪伦吉特·辛格

妻子之前曾涉足零售投资，但投入的资金少得多，也鲜有成功。因此，她起初很谨慎，只是旁听“课程”，并没有真正参与投资。

“他们之前分享的股票，走势确实和他们预测的一样，”她说道，并补充说她也验证了课程中教授的内容。

这对夫妇认为她已经尽职调查，于是投资了 4 万美元买入了她推荐的下一只股票——投资控股公司 CMBC Capital——并在她按照指示卖出股票后获得了约 20% 的利润。

当陈再次向她推介同一家公司时，她对自己的观察和经验充满信心。陈说，该公司股价将从当时的约 5 港元涨至每股 50 港元（8.10 新元），这是一个“千载难逢”的机会。

一位自称“陈嘉明”的教授正在推销购买中国工商银行资本控股公司股票的利好。（海峡时报照片：迪伦吉特·辛格）

一位自称“陈嘉明”的教授正在推销购买中国工商控股有限公司股票的好处。

这对夫妇随后拿出约 10 万美元的积蓄和约 50 万美元的银行贷款，在 7 月份的几天里以每股不到 5 港元的价格买入了这些股票。

妻子说：“第一周过后，股价确实上涨了，涨到了5港元以上……我们当时非常高兴，因为我们对他们很有信心，甚至信心到去银行贷款，因为他们承诺会给我们带来回报。”

当股票开始暴跌时，“Chan”和“Ella”继续敦促这对夫妇和聊天室里的其他人持有他们的股票，称价格波动是由于卖空者造成的。

“陈”甚至将责任归咎于投资者。在《海峡时报》看到的聊天记录中，他写道：“朋友们，我这两天心情很差。我一直在绞尽脑汁地想办法反击，打败做空者，但由于你们很多人都不愿意合作，我的策略并没有像预期的那样顺利实施。”

这对夫妇虽然担心，但还是按照指示做了，直到 8 月 2 日，他们毫无预警地被踢出了聊天室，“Chan”和“Ella”都无法联系上了。

尽管股价暴跌，“陈教授”和“Ella”在聊天室里敦促人们坚守阵地。ST PHOTOS：DILENJIT SINGH

尽管股价暴跌，“陈教授”和“Ella”在聊天室里敦促人们坚守阵地。

ST 摄影：迪伦吉特·辛格

到那时，他们的投资账面价值已经下跌了约85%，妻子形容这是“我一生中最糟糕的感觉”。截至9月2日，该股票的交易价格为0.68港元。

这对夫妇于 8 月 2 日向警方报案。丈夫还于 8 月 7 日向 CMBC Capital 发送电子邮件，要求将此事上报公司的法律合规部门和高级管理层，但截至 9 月 1 日，他尚未收到回复。

《海峡时报》已联系中国工商银行资本市场和香港警务处征求意见。

针对《海峡时报》的询问，香港交易所表示，其“不对个案发表评论”。

这对夫妇认为自己落入了“拉高出货”骗局，这种骗局中，诈骗分子通过散布虚假利好消息来抬高公司股价，并鼓励投资者买入，从而推高股价。随后，这些骗子迅速抛售股票牟利，导致股价暴跌。

新加坡警方在2021年的一份公告中指出，诈骗分子通常会向受害者索要股票交易截图，而且据信这些骗子的收入与购买其“推荐”股票的受害者人数成正比。这对新加坡夫妇也遭遇了同样的骗局。

反欺诈专家刘思明评估了这对夫妇提供的文件和其他可用信息，并告诉《海峡时报》：“根据现有证据，毫无疑问，这是一起诈骗这些投资者的阴谋。”

TrustDecision 的首席数据和人工智能官兼南洋理工大学兼职副教授表示，虽然无法断定他们是否遭遇了“拉高出货”骗局（或香港证券及期货事务监察委员会所称的“拉高出货”骗局），但“情况显示出了与‘拉高出货’骗局相关的特征”。

他解释说：“在我看来，这些文件确凿地证明了这是一个有组织的阴谋，目的是诱使一群散户投资者购买单一证券，阻止他们在价格下跌时出售，然后在他们的损失不断增加时收集他们的个人财务信息。”

专家表示，应重视“拉高出货”骗局。

9月5日，新加坡警方发布警报，警告公众注意涉及海外上市公司的“拉高出货”骗局卷土重来，称自7月1日以来至少已报告了21起案件。

2026年6月，他们也曾警告公众提防诈骗，受害者被邀请加入声称提供免费投资学习机会的聊天室。自5月以来，至少有48起此类案件被报道，损失金额高达360万美元。2021年12月，香港和新加坡当局联手调查一个涉嫌在香港联交所上市股票上进行“拉高出货”诈骗的犯罪团伙。在公司于8月25日发布声明，指出疑似投资诈骗之前，CMBC Capital曾在7月24日的一份声明中指出“近期股价出现异常波动”，但补充说“尚不清楚股价波动的原因”。

ST 在​​一家在线券商的聊天记录中发现了一些用户分享了他们与 CMBC Capital 的“Chan”和“Ella”的经历，并警告其他人提防所谓的骗局。

这些用户分享的账户和截图与新加坡夫妇向《海峡时报》提供的账户和截图类似。

ST 无法联系到 WhatsApp 聊天室或经纪公司消息线程中的其他投资者。

妻子哽咽着说，鉴于他们对个人和企业开支的预测，他们打算卖掉家里的车来偿还银行贷款，因为“这样做是不可持续的”。

丈夫补充道：“这场骗局的影响远不止数字那么简单，我还要养活三个年幼的儿子，还要养活我的工人。基本上，仅仅因为一场骗局，整个生态系统都受到了影响。”

刘表示，拉高出货骗局值得关注，因为尤其是在表面上，受害者似乎并没有做错什么。

他说：“这对夫妇所做的一切看起来都不鲁莽……他们使用了持牌经纪人。他们在真正的交易所购买了一家真实的上市公司。他们支付的是市场价格，而且他们的资金进入了市场，而不是转移到离岸账户。没有虚假平台，也没有虚假应用程序。”

“公共教育所训练人们掌握的每一项技能，他们都能通过。”

网络犯罪和诈骗