{
  "id": 8400772,
  "title": "S'pore man, 49, scammed out of S$80,000 by woman he had talked to online for 3 years, gets scammed by fake lawyer while trying to get money back",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/spore-man-49-scammed-out-of-s-80-000-by-woman-he-had-talked-to-online",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-18T18:10:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mothership",
    "slug": "mothership",
    "url": "https://mothership.sg/2026/09/engineer-scammed-80000/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In June 2026, a 49-year-old Singaporean engineer named Lee met a woman online, believing her to be a long-term overseas resident named Yu Ting from Sentosa Cove. The pair communicated through Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp for three years, with Lee investing a total of S$80,000 into her online store venture. Despite Lee's growing suspicion, she continued to insist on their business partnership. In 2026, Yu suggested they meet in person to further their relationship, providing photos of herself to prove her identity. After receiving the funds, she demanded an additional S$50,000 in cryptocurrency (S$63,794), which Lee transferred before realizing he had been scammed. Lee then sought legal help to recover his money, but unfortunately, he fell victim to another scam when a fake lawyer offered to assist him. After wiring 7,153 Tether (S$9,126) to the fake lawyer, he vanished without a trace. Lee filed a police report in an attempt to reclaim his lost funds.",
  "summary": "Scammed.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}