A scammer pretending to be from UnionPay phoned an elderly woman in her 80s last week. After getting her personal details, the fraudster quickly made a fake insurance policy document and sent photos as proof.
The woman thought the document was real. She planned to meet the scammer the next day, but her husband stopped her and called the police.
Mr. Xu, 80, told reporters his wife got a call on Monday, April 28, 2025, from a man speaking with a local accent.
The caller said she had bought an insurance policy through UnionPay. He claimed the free month had ended, and payments of $900 monthly for two years would start soon.
Mr. Xu said his wife kept telling the caller she never bought any insurance. The scammer insisted she had and asked for her personal information to “help cancel” the policy.
“My wife questioned why she needed to cancel something she never bought,” Mr. Xu said. “The caller kept pushing for her information. Then another person joined the call, claiming to be from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, saying they just wanted to fix her problem.”
When his wife threatened to call police, the scammers quickly said they were only trying to help. After constant pressure, she gave them her English name, phone number, and ID number.
Within 15 minutes of getting her information, the scammers created a fake policy with her details. They sent it through WhatsApp as “proof” and told her to stay in touch the next day.
Mr. Xu didn’t know about the situation until around 8:00 AM the following morning. His wife mentioned she needed to go out to meet someone and told him about the call.
He spotted the scam right away, stopped her from leaving, told her to cut all contact with the scammers, and called the police. Police confirmed they received the report.
The scammers demanded the elderly woman stay in constant contact. After she stopped communicating, they sent messages asking why she hadn’t contacted them after waking up. Later, they threatened to take her to the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a 45-day investigation if she didn’t respond.
“The scammers even threatened in their messages that if she didn’t reply before noon, they would take her to the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a 45-day investigation,” Mr. Xu said.
Despite having only primary school education, Mr. Xu reads the news daily, which has taught him about scam prevention. He never expected his wife would almost fall for a scam but was glad he stepped in just in time.
