‘Only later did I realise how stupid I was’: Retiree, 85, almost loses $110k to tech support scam

Despite not being among the top 10 scam types, the amount lost to technical support scams rose from $769,000 in the first half of 2025 to $4.9 million during the same period in 2026.

Published Sep 05, 2026, 12:00 PM

Updated Sep 05, 2026, 12:00 PM

An 85-year-old retiree nearly lost $110,000 to a tech support scam involving fake police.

Losses from technical support scams in Singapore rose sharply, from $769,000 in the first half of 2025 to $4.9 million during the same period in 2026.

Bank staff spotted the retiree's scam, froze the account, and helped prevent the loss.

SINGAPORE - As Jim (not his real name) was checking e-mails on his computer, a pop-up saying his device was blocked for security reasons suddenly filled the screen.

When the retired businessman, 85, called the number shown, a scammer impersonating technical support staff told him the police needed to be informed.

The police said the number of such scams rose by almost 50 per cent, from 33 cases in the first six months of 2025 to 49 cases during the same period this year.

Speaking to the media on Sept 2, Jim said a fake policeman called him and said his account had been used by someone to transfer illicit funds.

“He even said to me: ‘I’m glad you’re on the line with me, because you can help me catch this culprit.’”

Convinced he was speaking to the authorities, Jim gave the scammer details of the OCBC joint account he shared with his wife and almost lost $110,000, a bulk of his life savings.

“Only later did I realise how stupid I was,” said Jim.

Scam victims in Singapore lost $410.6 million in the first six months of 2026, with e-commerce, phishing and investment scams being the most common scam types.

The scammer told Jim, who was wheelchair-bound, the money had to be transferred to another account to set a trap for the culprit. Jim asked his helper to push him to OCBC’s Marine Parade branch .

He told bank teller Robert Tan, 33, he needed to make a transfer and handed Tan a piece of paper with a name and bank account number belonging to his “cousin”.

Tan said: “That was one of the first red flags, as his cousin’s name showed he was of a different race.

“When I asked why he was making the transfer, he insisted I transfer the funds without asking questions.”

Suspecting that Jim was a scam victim , Tan alerted customer service officer Chai Mei Li, 50, who escorted Jim to a private room.

Chai recalled: “I explained we needed more information on the transfer to proceed with it. But Jim threatened to make a complaint against me to my boss.

“He also kept saying ‘This is my money, and I have the right to transfer it to anyone.’”

Chai checked and realised the transaction limit on Jim’s account had just been increased from $3,000 to $200,000. The scammers just needed him to transfer the money at the bank.

OCBC customer service officer Chai Mei Li (left) and bank teller Robert Tan intervened and prevented Jim from losing a bulk of his life savings. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

OCBC customer service officer Chai Mei Li (left) and bank teller Robert Tan intervened and prevented Jim from losing a bulk of his life savings.

During their meeting, Chai noticed Jim was constantly getting calls, with the voice on the other line repeatedly asking if the transfer had been done.

Said Chai : “When I warned him he was getting scammed, he was not convinced and even called me a scammer.”

After at least an hour, Jim left in a huff, saying he would make the transfer some other way.

Worried he would lose his life savings, Chai reported his case to OCBC’s anti-fraud team. His account was frozen and the police were alerted.

Jim only realised he had been scammed when officers from the Singapore Police Force arrived at his home that day. His son is a retired police officer.

He said: “At first, when I didn’t make the transfer, I thought I had disappointed the ‘police’. But after speaking to the (real) officers and my son, I felt terrible for treating the bank staff the way that I did.”

The next day, he returned to the bank to apologise to Tan and Chai.

Said Jim : “What they did was really a good thing. If the transaction had gone through, I would have lost a huge chunk of my life savings.”

He added: “Before this incident, I would read about scams in the papers. But when it happened to me, I realised how easily I could be influenced.

“ It is easy to fall prey to scammers , so everyone should be on guard.”

Helplines and online resources

ScamShield Helpline: 1799

National Mindline: 1771 (24 hours) / 6669-1771 (via WhatsApp)

Nadine Chua is a correspondent covering crime and court at The Straits Times.

尽管技术支持诈骗并未跻身十大诈骗类型之列，但其造成的损失金额从 2025 年上半年的 76.9 万美元增加到 2026 年同期的 490 万美元。

发布于 2026 年 9 月 5 日 下午 12:00

更新于2026年9月5日中午12:00

一位 85 岁的退休老人险些因假冒警察的技术支持诈骗损失 11 万美元。

新加坡技术支持诈骗造成的损失大幅上升，从 2025 年上半年的 76.9 万美元增至 2026 年同期的 490 万美元。

银行工作人员发现了这位退休人员的骗局，冻结了账户，帮助避免了损失。

新加坡——吉姆（化名）正在电脑上查看电子邮件时，屏幕上突然弹出一个窗口，显示他的设备因安全原因被阻止。

这位 85 岁的退休商人拨打了显示的电话号码，一名冒充技术支持人员的骗子告诉他需要报警。

警方表示，此类诈骗案件数量增加了近 50%，从 2025 年上半年的 33 起增加到今年同期的 49 起。

9月2日，吉姆在接受媒体采访时表示，一名假警察打电话给他，说他的账户被人用来转移非法资金。

“他甚至对我说：‘我很高兴你能和我一起通话，因为你可以帮我抓住这个罪犯。’”

吉姆以为自己是在和当局交谈，于是向骗子提供了他和妻子共用的华侨银行联名账户的详细信息，差点损失了 11 万美元，这几乎是他毕生积蓄的大部分。

“后来我才意识到自己有多愚蠢，”吉姆说。

2026 年上半年，新加坡的诈骗受害者损失了 4.106 亿美元，其中电子商务诈骗、网络钓鱼诈骗和投资诈骗是最常见的诈骗类型。

骗子告诉坐轮椅的吉姆，这笔钱必须转到另一个账户，以便设下陷阱抓住骗子。吉姆让他的助手推他到华侨银行马林百列分行。

他告诉 33 岁的银行柜员罗伯特·谭，他需要转账，并递给谭一张纸，上面写着他“表亲”的姓名和银行账号。

谭说：“这是最早的危险信号之一，因为他表弟的名字表明他是不同种族的人。”

“当我问他为什么要转账时，他坚持让我转账，不问任何问题。”

谭怀疑吉姆是诈骗受害者，于是通知了客服人员柴美莉（50岁），柴美莉陪同吉姆去了一间私人房间。

柴回忆说：“我解释说我们需要更多关于转账的信息才能继续进行。但吉姆威胁要向我的老板投诉我。”

“他还一直说，‘这是我的钱，我有权把它转给任何人。’”

柴查看后发现，吉姆账户的交易限额刚刚从3000美元提高到了20万美元。骗子们只需要他去银行转账就行了。

华侨银行客户服务专员蔡美莉（左）和银行柜员罗伯特·谭及时介入，避免了吉姆损失大部分毕生积蓄。海峡时报摄影：凯文·林

华侨银行客户服务专员蔡美莉（左）和银行柜员罗伯特·谭介入，阻止了吉姆损失他毕生的大部分积蓄。

在会面期间，柴注意到吉姆不断接到电话，电话那头的人反复询问转账是否已经完成。

柴先生说：“当我警告他他被骗时，他不相信，甚至还骂我是骗子。”

至少一个小时后，吉姆气冲冲地离开了，说他会用其他方式完成转账。

担心毕生积蓄会付诸东流，柴先生向华侨银行反欺诈部门报案。他的账户被冻结，警方也接到了报案。

直到新加坡警方当天来到吉姆家，他才意识到自己被骗了。他的儿子是一名退休警官。

他说：“起初，当我没能完成转账时，我以为我让‘警察’失望了。但在与（真正的）警察和我的儿子交谈后，我为自己对待银行工作人员的方式感到非常抱歉。”

第二天，他回到银行向谭和柴道歉。

吉姆说：“他们的做法真是太好了。如果交易成功了，我毕生的积蓄就会损失一大笔。”

他补充道：“在这件事发生之前，我经常在报纸上看到诈骗新闻。但当这种事发生在我身上时，我才意识到自己是多么容易受人影响。”

“很容易成为骗子的受害者，所以每个人都应该提高警惕。”

热线电话和在线资源

诈骗防护热线：1799

全国热线：1771（24 小时）/6669-1771（通过 WhatsApp）

Nadine Chua是《海峡时报》负责报道犯罪和法庭新闻的记者。