Online 'Singaporean woman' allegedly scams man into depositing $80k in crypto: 'I asked for photos to prove she's real'

For three years, a man chatted online with an 'overseas Singaporean woman' he met on Facebook.

Convinced by the woman, known as Yuting, to set up an online "dropshipping" shop, the man deposited close to $80,000 in less than a month.

Dropshipping is a business model where the seller does not hold the physical inventory of the goods being sold.

It was all a sham, as he discovered after the woman repeatedly asked him to top up more money.

The victim, surnamed Li, told Shin Min Daily News that Yuting had first introduced the investment opportunity to him soon after they began talking in 2023.

She repeatedly tried to induct him into the scheme several times over the years, he claimed.

The 49-year-old engineer was supposedly told he would help 'customers' place their orders with a 'supplier', who must be paid in advance.

The payment would be refunded once the transaction was done, and he would earn a commission of about 15 per cent.

Li said he had doubts about the job as the woman had declined his requests for video calls or meetings.

"This June, she brought up the topic again and said that she would be returning to Singapore soon. I asked her to send photos to prove she's real, and she did send them, so I believed her."