Scammer poses as Hwa Chong teacher, cheats 78-year-old man of S$67,500 in mattress order scam
A 78-year-old man lost S$67,500 after falling victim to scammers who impersonated a Hwa Chong Institution teacher and tricked him into making payments for a large mattress order.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Mr Huang (not his real name) told Shin Min Daily News that the scam began on 18 Sept, when he received a call from someone who introduced himself as “Mr Chen”, a teacher from Hwa Chong.
“Mr Chen” claimed the school wanted to collaborate with him on an event and even asked for his car plate number, citing school entry requirements.
The details sounded convincing enough for Mr Huang to believe the story.
Pressured to order mattresses for ‘urgent’ school event
The following day, “Mr Chen” called again, this time saying the school urgently needed 50 mattresses.
He explained that their usual supplier had fallen out with the principal and was unwilling to provide goods, so the school wanted Mr Huang to act as a middleman.
Mr Huang was given the contact of a supposed mattress company in Malaysia. Out of goodwill, he agreed to help.
When he contacted the company, the person in charge claimed to have stock but demanded immediate payment.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
At the same time, “Mr Chen” kept pressuring him, saying the mattresses were needed quickly as Ministry of Education officials would soon be conducting an inspection.
Feeling the urgency, Mr Huang transferred S$18,500.
Shortly after, he was told the school needed another 150 mattresses to donate to those in need, costing S$49,000.
He was asked to first pay a S$10,000 deposit, followed by another S$39,000 later the same day.
In total, he had transferred S$67,500.
Fake receipts & mounting doubts
As doubts grew, Mr Huang asked for proof of repayment.
The scammer sent him a screenshot showing a supposed transfer of S$96,000, claiming the school had reimbursed him. However, the money never arrived.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
When Mr Huang took the screenshot to his bank to verify, staff told him the transfer might take time and did not spot that the document was forged.
This gave him some confidence, and he went ahead with the final S$39,000 payment.
Even so, lingering doubts remained. When he asked for identification, the scammer sent over a Malaysian identity card and claimed to be a Chinese Muslim man.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
According to receipts provided, the so-called supplier bore the name of a well-known Chinese mattress brand, but the documents carried no company details.
The truth only surfaced when one of Mr Huang’s employees mentioned the incident to his daughter, who immediately recognised the receipt as fake and found reports online of similar scams.
The family then lodged a police report, but by then, the scammers had withdrawn all their earlier messages.
Hwa Chong Institution’s name misused before
This is not the first time scammers have used Hwa Chong Institution’s name.
The school has previously issued advisories warning that it does not call from overseas or ask outsiders to make payments on its behalf.
Members of the public were also urged not to provide personal details, bank account information, credit card numbers, or one-time passwords (OTPs) to unknown callers.
Past cases reported by Shin Min Daily News include a photographer who was cheated of S$14,000 in a similar ruse, where scammers claimed the school needed his help to pay suppliers.
In response to MS News’ queries, the police confirmed that a report has been lodged and investigations are ongoing.
Reflecting on his ordeal, Mr Huang said the scammers’ methods were highly sophisticated.
“They impersonate familiar people or institutions to make you believe them,” he said. “They even use documents and receipts to make the transactions look real. There are no loopholes.”
Also read: Restaurant in Dover targeted in bulk order scam by scammers posing as school staff
Restaurant in Dover targeted in bulk order scam by scammers posing as school staff
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.
