Veteran Singapore actor Laurence Pang, 78, lost close to 1.5 million pesos (S$35,000) after he was deceived by Mika, a woman he met on a dating site in late 2024, who led him to invest in a fake online business in the Philippines.
Pang, who's known for acting in TV shows Tanglin and Sunny Side Up, recalled his experience during an episode of the public service programme Raffy Tulfo In Action on Jan 17, hosted by Filipino broadcaster Raffy Tulfo who also has been serving as a senator since 2022.
The show, where Tulfo acts on complaints from ordinary citizens who have experienced injustices and tries to bring about a solution, is widely popular in the Philippines.
During the show, Pang said that he met Mika through an online dating app called Pinalove. She told him that she liked him and later asked him to invest money in a business reselling products on an online platform.
The actor said he was won over by her charm and agreed to do so, only realising later that he was selling the products on a fake version on Rakuten, the Japanese online retail marketplace.
“Being an old man, when a young lady says ‘I like you...’. Stupid, you know, ” he said.
Pang added that he had never seen Mika in real life before and only conversed over Whatsapp and video chats.
Image of 'Mika' she shared with Pang (left) and a screenshot of a video chat Pang had with 'Mika' (right) (Photos: Raffy Tulfo In Action/Youtube)
Pang said that Mika convinced him to join the business venture by telling him that she was processing her own orders and making good money. She also showed Pang a report of her profits.
Mika instructed Pang to transfer the money into her bank account, which she would use to register and set up his e-commerce and cryptocurrency account.
He said that the platform gives resellers an online shop along with the products to sell, which he needed to fund first. Once a customer buys an item from the store and the sale is confirmed, he will get a 10 per cent commission and a refund of his capital.
Pang, however, said that he was unable to withdraw his money as long as there was an outstanding order that he had not fulfilled. But orders racked up quickly, leaving him unable to take his money out of the account. Pang quickly became suspicious of this.
“I believe that these customers that were coming in were all fake, generated by this company to prevent me from withdrawing my money,” he said.
After realising this on the second or third day, Pang said that he removed all the products from the store, so that no new purchases could be made.
However, there were still new purchases coming in.
He said that he believes that the website administrators gained control of his account and reloaded the products he had previously removed. With that, Pang was stuck and unable to retrieve the money he had invested into the business, which was "over $27,000 in cryptocurrency".
“We call that scam a romance or love scam," said the Public Information Officer of Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNPACG), Wallen Mae Arancillo, who was on the phone with Tulfo during the episode. "The usual way of the modus operandi is that these scammers get the sympathy of their victims, who later encourage their victims to invest in cryptocurrency."
Tulfo also said that Mika could be part of a bigger scamming operation.
“The PNPACG is really doing our best with regards to cyber patrolling and online investigations so that we will be able to trace these people behind these scam hubs,” said Arancillo.
Tulfo’s team and the Philippine police are now assisting Pang in the investigation.
Continue reading...
Pang, who's known for acting in TV shows Tanglin and Sunny Side Up, recalled his experience during an episode of the public service programme Raffy Tulfo In Action on Jan 17, hosted by Filipino broadcaster Raffy Tulfo who also has been serving as a senator since 2022.
The show, where Tulfo acts on complaints from ordinary citizens who have experienced injustices and tries to bring about a solution, is widely popular in the Philippines.
During the show, Pang said that he met Mika through an online dating app called Pinalove. She told him that she liked him and later asked him to invest money in a business reselling products on an online platform.
The actor said he was won over by her charm and agreed to do so, only realising later that he was selling the products on a fake version on Rakuten, the Japanese online retail marketplace.
“Being an old man, when a young lady says ‘I like you...’. Stupid, you know, ” he said.
Pang added that he had never seen Mika in real life before and only conversed over Whatsapp and video chats.
Image of 'Mika' she shared with Pang (left) and a screenshot of a video chat Pang had with 'Mika' (right) (Photos: Raffy Tulfo In Action/Youtube)
Pang said that Mika convinced him to join the business venture by telling him that she was processing her own orders and making good money. She also showed Pang a report of her profits.
Mika instructed Pang to transfer the money into her bank account, which she would use to register and set up his e-commerce and cryptocurrency account.
He said that the platform gives resellers an online shop along with the products to sell, which he needed to fund first. Once a customer buys an item from the store and the sale is confirmed, he will get a 10 per cent commission and a refund of his capital.
Pang, however, said that he was unable to withdraw his money as long as there was an outstanding order that he had not fulfilled. But orders racked up quickly, leaving him unable to take his money out of the account. Pang quickly became suspicious of this.
“I believe that these customers that were coming in were all fake, generated by this company to prevent me from withdrawing my money,” he said.
After realising this on the second or third day, Pang said that he removed all the products from the store, so that no new purchases could be made.
However, there were still new purchases coming in.
He said that he believes that the website administrators gained control of his account and reloaded the products he had previously removed. With that, Pang was stuck and unable to retrieve the money he had invested into the business, which was "over $27,000 in cryptocurrency".
“We call that scam a romance or love scam," said the Public Information Officer of Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNPACG), Wallen Mae Arancillo, who was on the phone with Tulfo during the episode. "The usual way of the modus operandi is that these scammers get the sympathy of their victims, who later encourage their victims to invest in cryptocurrency."
Tulfo also said that Mika could be part of a bigger scamming operation.
“The PNPACG is really doing our best with regards to cyber patrolling and online investigations so that we will be able to trace these people behind these scam hubs,” said Arancillo.
Tulfo’s team and the Philippine police are now assisting Pang in the investigation.
Continue reading...