Love scam victim with intellectual disability waited in vain at ferry terminal

A man with an intellectual disability fell for a woman he got to know on social media and transferred more than $100 to her from his savings account.

- Christine Tan

When the woman said she was coming to Singapore to visit him, he waited for her at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal for half a day. But she never turned up and cut off contact with him.

Ms Gina Tan, lead social worker at SPD, a charity which helps people with disabilities, recounted this incident to The Straits Times in February to highlight how vulnerable those with special needs are to being scammed.

Scam victims in Singapore lost a record $1.1 billion in 2024, according to annual scam figures released by police on Feb 25. This was the first time an annual loss to scams crossed the $1 billion mark.

So far in 2025, more than 3,500 cases of scams have been reported, with victims losing more than $80.7 million.

Amid the scam scourge, social service organisations said people with intellectual disabilities are especially vulnerable.

SPD, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities (THKMC) and Touch Community Services, which serve people with intellectual disabilities, are teaching their clients how to protect themselves against scams.

In the love scam case, Ms Tan said the scammer approached John (not his real name) on social media posing as a pretty woman. Ms Tan said: "As the relationship grew over two months, he naively thought: 'OK, I want her to be my girlfriend.'"

Soon, John sent her money to "support" her, and wanted to marry her.

The woman claimed she was coming to Singapore, and John was adamant on going to the ferry terminal to meet her.

After her no-show, she stopped contacting him.

Ms Tan said John was heartbroken but did not make a police report.