‘He was just so real’: Why online scams are claiming victims among the educated and well-off
*Names have been changedSINGAPORE: In May last year, Eliza* joined a Discord group set up for people to chat about investment.
It seemed a safe space to the Singaporean legal professional in her 40s, who wanted to connect with others in a like-minded community.When a private message popped up on her screen, she thought nothing of it.
In a group of around 12,000 users, it was common practice to message one another privately. So she responded to the user named Andy.Over in Kuala Lumpur,Samantha*, 50, a professional in a public-listed company, was browsing Instagram in January this year when she received a message from a stranger.
It was different from the “Hi, darling” messages she regularly received and reported as spam. This one, from a man named Zi Ming, went, “You remind me of my teacher.
