47-year-old Mr Koh who lost his job due to the COVID-19 pandemic was looking for jobs on the internet when he stumbled upon a football betting website advertising “sure win” bets.
According to the website’s description, they claimed to have control over the outcomes of the football matches, and was able to provide accurate tips for punters to win big money.
Mr Koh inquired about the website’s betting services via WhatsApp, and was convinced to place a $400 starting bet. He was later told that the $400 was just an administration fee, and he needed to pay another $400 to place his bet. He later placed an additional $200 bet himself on the website.
As it turns out, the tips were completely wrong, and Mr Koh lost the entire sum of $1000. When Mr Koh confronted the website’s operator, he was told that the tips given earlier were fake, and that he had to fork out another $3000 to join as a VIP member before he would be given “real tips”.
It was then that Mr Koh realised that he had been scammed.