Singaporean actor loses S$35,000 after falling for online love scam in PH
Singaporean veteran actor Laurence Pang became a victim of an online love scam in the Philippines wherein he lost S$35,000 (P1.4 million).
Speaking to broadcaster-turned-senator Raffy Tulfo on his program Raffy Tulfo In Action, Pang said that he was tricked by a woman with the name "Mika" after meeting her on a dating site called PinaLove in late 2024.
The scammer pushed for him to invest in a fake online business in the Philippines, assuring him that he would get a 10% commission as a reseller in every product that the website could sell. Pang agreed to it as he admitted that he was captivated by Mika during their conversations together.
"She used her charms, let's put it this way. Being an old man you know, when a young woman says 'I love you,' stupid you know," he said, gesturing to himself.
According to the 78-year-old actor, resellers on the website will only get the commission when there isn't an outstanding order. "Whenever there's a customer who buys any products there, I have to fund it first. Then the customer will take the shipment, I will get 10% of the sale and take back my capital. Before I can take back my commission, another sale came in, I have to fulfill it again."
Despite trying to remove all the products from his online store, he found that the administrators gained control of his account and kept the orders flooding in, preventing him from withdrawing any of his money.
Tulfo pointed out that this was the "modus operandi" of the scam.
When Pang tried to contact Mika through a video call to take a screenshot of her face, he discovered that the photos she was using on the dating site had been heavily edited and enhanced by artificial intelligence.
The show later reached out to Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group spokeswoman PLT Wallen Mae Arancillo, who confirmed that Pang was indeed a victim of a love scam.
"Please be vigilant in your online transactions. Please take note that these people that you're speaking with online are just using dummy accounts to entice you, to lure you, and later on get your sympathy and encourage you to invest, and without your knowledge, they are just getting money from you," Arancillo warned viewers.
"Please be aware of your actions online and always be mindful of all the people that you are talking with," she advised
Romance scams are a pressing issue in the Philippines, with the recent victim being television anchor Migs Bustos. Because of this, Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano urged others to report these types of crimes.
"Tayo bilang Pilipino, avid users tayo ng social media kaya very vulnerable po talaga ang mga Pilipino dito sa mga ganitong scams and Migs Bustos is one of the victims, but there are so many out there [who also fall victim]," Clavano said.
He further cautioned the public to be more vigilant about people they talk to online due to the prevalence of using AI to mimic real-life persons.
"Make sure kung that sino man ang kausap mo, siya talaga iyon. Be very careful of AI videos. There are certain methods that you can search online to tell kung deepfake ba talaga iyon, kung AI ang ginagamit," Clavano said.
Based on data gathered by the DOJ, there have been more than 100 Filipinos who fell victim to love scams.
