‘Only later did I realise how stupid I was’: Retiree, 85, almost loses $110k to tech support scam
The retiree gave the scammer details of the OCBC joint account he shared with his wife.
Jim, an 85-year-old retiree, fell victim to a technical support scam in Singapore, nearly losing $110,000 of his life savings. The scammer, posing as a technical support staff member, convinced Jim that the police needed to be informed about an illicit fund transfer from his shared OCBC Bank account with his wife. Jim gave the scammer details of the joint bank account, believing he was speaking to authorities.
A bank teller, Robert Tan, noticed red flags about the transfer request and alerted bank staff, who escorted Jim to a private room. However, Jim, threatened to complain about Tan to his boss, and insisted on proceeding with the transfer. The scammer successfully increased Jim's transaction limit, making it easier to execute the scam.
Jim's son, a retired police officer, helped him realize the mistake and apologize to the bank staff, emphasizing the importance of being cautious against scammers.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
